Pride of Your Soul
by grey0716
Summary: Nate is a thief who can understand Pokemon and believes that there is no such thing as 'good' in humanity. Rosa is an arrogant, aspiring trainer who believes that she will become the next champion. The world decides to give these two a reality check. Sequel to Color of Your Soul, based on Pokemon Black and White 2.
1. 01: Maverick

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 1: Maverick**

* * *

 **AN:** Hey everyone, grey0716 here, and after having ended off Color of Your Soul, I present to you its sequel; Pride of Your Soul! This story will be based off of Pokemon Black and White 2, but unlike Color of Your Soul, which was based solely on Pokemon White, Pride will be based on a mix between Black 2 and White 2. A brand new start, and a brand new story, so reviews, critiques and advice on how I can make this story better are welcome.

And before I start this, a disclaimer, because I don't want legal issues to screw me over.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Pokémon or any of its existing/canon characters.**

Alright with that out of the way, let's get started!

* * *

 _In mythology, Unova was created by uniting the warring peoples of the land by twin heroes. They used a single dragon sometime more than 2500 years ago. The brothers started to argue over their beliefs; the elder brother sought truth and the younger brother sought ideals. Their arguments split the single dragon into Reshiram, who sided with the older brother, and Zekrom, who sided with the younger brother. Since they were both born from the same dragon neither could defeat the other and the brothers declared that there was no right side. However, eventually their sons continued the fight and both the dragons started to battle again, destroying the Unova region with their fire and lightning powers before disappearing._

 _The mythos has revived itself. In the land of Unova, an organization known as Team Plasma advocated the liberation of Pokémon from humans. Their king, 'N', became the Hero of Truth, and revived the white dragon of truth, Reshiram, and conquered the region to enforce what he thought to be the truth. This time was known as the 'Plasma Raid'. Opposing him, was one trainer whom he deemed 'unique' from the rest of the humans. Hilbert, or better known as the 'Hero of Ideals', revived the black dragon of ideals, Zekrom, and challenged N to one final battle for the fate of Unova. After a long fought war, Hilbert prevailed over N, and the ideals that Pokémon and Humans should make a future together was instilled onto Unova. But the truth N had believed in, was in fact a lie made by his adoptive father, Ghetsis Harmonia Gropius, in an effort to claim Unova for himself. Furious that he had lied to N for his own personal gains, Hilbert fought the true evil of Team Plasma, and prevailed, saving Unova from perils unspoken of. N, wanting to find a new truth, departed Unova, on his own personal journey along with Reshiram. Hilbert, along with Zekrom, vanished soon after, last seen exploring East Unova, before completely disappearing one year later. No one has heard from the heroes again._

* * *

 _Two years later..._

* * *

Aspertia City. A small city situated in the southwestern region of Unova. The streets were bustling with people getting to where they needed to be. In one of these streets, a salaryman was busy talking on his phone as he was walking down the street to get to his job, where someone bumped into him.

"Oh sorry there!" the man exclaimed.

"Sorry 'bout that," the other person replied.

As the man hurried off to his job, the other person snickered to himself as he rushed off into an alleyway. He hid behind a trash can, where he revealed a wallet in his hand, which he checked through the contents and smirked at the large amounts of cash in it.

"Oooooh! This is totally gonna buy us dinner!" the boy smirked.

The boy looked around, making sure no one would follow him and that his cloak was concealing his identity. He then headed deeper into the alleyway, avoiding several trash cans and cardboard boxes as he went by. At the end of the alleyway, a yellow bipedal canine-like Pokémon was leaning against the wall, sharpening the spikes on her paws.

"Hey! Luca!" the boy called out.

The Pokémon, named 'Luca' according to the boy, looked up.

"-Nate!-" Luca exclaimed. "-Did you get anything?-"

The boy, 'Nate', grinned as he showed Luca the content of the wallet he had 'procured'.

"-That's a lot of money...!-" Luca gasped.

"We're gonna have a good dinner tonight," Nate snickered.

The boy and the Pokémon decided to move out, exiting the alleyway and heading for some other location of the city. He noted that the city in question, despite it being classified as a 'city' was much more rural than compared to other big cities like Castelia and Nimbasa.

"-So why are we here again?-" Luca asked.

"He said that there would be some intel in this city regarding the crap we're looking for," Nate said as he counted the money.

"-How is there any intel on those in here of all places?-" Luca asked.

"I dunno," Nate muttered. "You know what they say, 'don't judge a book by its cover'. There might be someone who knows something about the crap we're looking for."

"-If you say so...-" Luca muttered.

Nate sighed as the duo walked passed people who were giving them rather skeptical looks. It couldn't be helped. It was common knowledge that humans and Pokémon couldn't speak with one another, despite being able to cooperate with each other. Their tongue were obviously too different for comprehension, comparable to a man trying to talk to his dog; it was simply impossible without any kind of outside help. Interestingly enough, while humans cannot understand and comprehend Pokémon, Pokémon can understand humans perfectly fine.

Yet despite this common knowledge, there have been at least two instances where a man could communicate with wild Pokémon. One of them was 'N', the enigmatic leader of Team Plasma two years ago, who claimed to be able to speak to Pokémon. With this ability, Team Plasma was able to advance their efforts towards liberation. The other one was rumored to be 'Hilbert Warren', who was opposing Team Plasma, and succeeded.

Yet Nate here is speaking to his lucario perfectly fine.

"Well he had 'outside help', or should I say, 'inside'?" Nate muttered. "And you try living with Pokémon from the age of 4. One way or another, you're gonna be forced to learn their tongue."

Luca made no comment towards that, as Nate took out a map of the city he procured from a nearby trash can earlier.

"So the shops are here..." Nate muttered. "And...There's a Trainer's school next to it."

"-A Trainer's school?-" Luca asked.

"A school huh..." Nate muttered. "...Where there's a school, there're students...and where there're students...there's gotta be a mess hall..."

"-Free food?-" Luca asked, predicting what Nate is contemplating about.

"You know it," Nate said. "Why waste money you worked so hard on, where you can get free food, and save said money for some other thing."

"-You sure you want to risk it?-" Luca asked. "-It's a trainer's school. It's bound to be filled with witnesses. Not to mention officials from the Pokémon League. And there's nothing stopping them from calling the police.-"

"I don't see the problem," Nate simply muttered. "Besides, what're the odds that we'll get caught in a trainer's school? The 'trainers' there are probably B-rate at best. The only thing we'd have to worry about are the teachers."

"-I guess...-" Luca said, still somewhat unsure.

"If this works, then you can eat even more food than this wallet can offer," Nate tempted Luca.

At the words 'more food', Luca's small appendages on the back of her head shot up excitedly, before settling down; something Nate noticed with great pleasure.

"-I-I guess it's a good...c-cost effective means of getting food...-" Luca muttered.

'Works like a charm every time,' Nate thought triumphantly with a devilish smirk on his face. "Alright, let's go."

"And as such, this is why type balances are essential to any trainer, regardless of whether they aim to be competitive or not."

* * *

Elsewhere in Aspertia stood the city's own Trainer's School. In one of the classrooms was a class going on. Teaching said class was a young man with black hair and one strand sticking up. He was wearing a white shirt tucked into his blue pants while a red tie hung around his collar.

"Now, there are several types, as you all know," the man went on with his lecture. "To be more specific, there are seventeen existing and classified types; each with their own strengths, resistances and weaknesses. To understand all of them allows one to be able to understand what they are facing, and to comply with the appropriate type, making combat easier."

As the class was taking notes, one girl was lazily looking out of the window that stood next to her desk. The girl in question had brown hair which was tied up into two buns and pig tails while wearing a pink visor. She was wearing a pink top tied with a bow around her neck like a halter under a white shirt with light blue sleeves with a pink pokéball printed on it. Along with the top was a frilly flared yellow shorts over opaque black tights with pink socks and white shoes. The girl wasn't paying much attention to the lesson as her blue eyes oozed with boredom as they stared outwards through the window.

Next to the girl was a boy with red eyes and dark blue spiky hair that goes upward, giving him the resemblance of a quilfish. He was wearing a red and white training suit and black gloves while wearing dark blue riding pants that match his hair and wore red shoes with black laces of Velcro. He noticed the girl next to him not paying attention and sighed. This wasn't the first time she ignored their professor's lesson.

"C'mon, Rosa, you need to pay attention to this," the boy muttered.

"It not like it matters to us, Hugh," the girl now named as Rosa retorted. "We already know all the types and all that stuff like the back of our hands."

"Then at least pretend you're paying attention," Hugh said. "Do you want Professor Cheren to yell at you for not paying attention again?"

"He can do whatever he wants," Rosa simply scoffed. "We're almost done with this class."

"Key word being 'almost'," Hugh sighed. "Seriously, I get that you don't care anymore since we passed Professor Cheren's last test, but c'mon, at least act like you care until his friend comes here."

"Fine, fine," Rosa sighed. "If playing coy will get you to stop being so worried about Professor Cheren calling us out, then so be it."

"Then you're going to have to pull off a rather convincing job then, Ms. Echoes."

Both Rosa and Hugh jumped and turned around to see a tall, slender young man with very pale skin, black eyes, and jet-black hair with a small tuft that stuck up from the top of his head. He was wearing a white dress-shirt, an orange necktie, blue dress pants, and brown shoes.

"P-Professor Cheren," Rosa stumbled with her words.

Professor Cheren loomed over them with a disappointed look on his face. The rest of the class was snickering behind him at the two; well mostly Rosa. The girl knew that, and kept her irritation to herself like always.

"I knew this would happen," Hugh sighed as his palm met his face.

"With all due respect, Professor," Rosa defended herself. "Hugh and I have already passed your final test and have been chosen to participate in Professor Juniper's pokédex campaign. I'm fairly sure that we do not need to pay attention to this lesson."

"Oh? Quite the moxie there, Ms. Echoes," Cheren scoffed. "While yes, you have beaten me in a gym battle and obtained the basic badge, it doesn't automatically justify your arrogance. No matter what, each lesson holds high value for your journey, so I highly advise that you at least pay attention to it."

"But the lesson is about type combinations, correct?" Rosa asked. "I already know enough to suffice my journey, so this lesson holds no purpose if it's only informing us of something we already know."

"...You're very adamant on justifying yourself, aren't you, Ms. Echoes," Cheren said.

"Of course," Rosa huffed, arrogance oozing out of her tone. "As the trainer to become the future champion, I can't allow obstacles to get in my way."

Hugh simply rolled his eyes as Cheren sighed.

"Confidence is one thing," Cheren said. "But arrogance will only bring you down in the end."

"I am not arrogant," Rosa huffed.

"Bullshit," Hugh said in between coughs, earning a glare from Rosa.

"Your tone clearly says otherwise," Cheren rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, you worry too much, Professor," Rosa scoffed.

In response, the pokéball clipped onto her belt suddenly opened, releasing a small, mammalian, quadruped fox-like creature with primarily brown fur. The fox held a similar, arrogant, yet somewhat more innocent air alongside her trainer.

"Eve and I can handle ourselves," Rosa assured Cheren.

"-That's right!-" Eve held her head high up.

"Ugh, and here's the arrogant eevee," one classmate groaned.

"Vibrava, deal with Eve," Hugh said as he released his partner.

From the pokéball Hugh held in his hand, a yellowish, dragonfly-like Pokémon with large, green bulging eyes appeared out of it.

"-Again?-" Vibrava sighed. "-Oh whatever. Hey, Eve! Let's go for a ride!-"

"-Yaaay!-" Eve squealed as she abandoned Rosa in favor of riding Vibrava.

"Wha–Hey!" Rosa yelled as Eve jumped onto Vibrava's back.

Cheren opened the window, where Vibrava flew out for his usual lap around the skies of the city.

"Traitor..." Rosa grumbled.

"You know this is the usual thing," Hugh sighed.

"Although I do have to admit," Cheren said as he watched Vibrava and Eve fly off. "Those two came a long way. And so have you two."

Rosa and Hugh looked up to Cheren.

"It only seemed like yesterday when I was first admitted to be a teacher," Cheren said. "And after a year of being your teacher, I'm proud to say that you two have grown sufficiently as trainers."

The two trainers looked somewhat surprised at their teacher's words of praise. Hugh looked somewhat embarrassed, while Rosa held her chest up high in pride.

"Although you two could still use some work," Cheren added, managing to lower their spirits. "Especially you Rosa."

Rosa puffed her cheeks in anger.

"Nothing a good old journey can't solve," Cheren said.

"Professor Cheren. Didn't you go on a journey two years ago?" one student asked.

"Yes, you are correct," Cheren said. "I obtained a pokédex, and my starter from Professor Juniper back at my hometown, Nuvema, alongside my childhood friends, Bianca and Hilbert."

"Hilbert...as in Hilbert Warren, right?" another student asked. "The famed 'Hero of Ideals', Hilbert Warren?"

"Yes, that Hilbert Warren," Cheren mused. "If I remember correctly, your dream of becoming the future champion derived from his fruits of labor and his fight against Team Plasma, right, Rosa?"

"Of course Professor!" Rosa boomed. "Hilbert Warren's brave heroics during the Plasma Raid was absolutely awe-inspiring!"

Cheren seemed quite amused by the girl's reaction. It always amused him how his childhood friend ended up becoming a renowned and praise-worthy war hero. Especially considering how he was somewhat of a reluctant hero with a rather 'spotty' backstory back then.

"Which is why once Professor Juniper's assistant comes, I'm going to pick Oshawott!" Rosa declared.

"Oh? And your reason?" Cheren asked, although he could pretty much put together why.

"Of course," Rosa said. "It's the cutest of the three. Not to mention Hilbert Warren chose Oshawott, and his samurott is considered to be his strongest member, next to Zekrom, of course."

Oh yes. Memories of Samurott and his borderline barbaric plights alongside Hilbert. The Water-type was Hilbert's best partner, and pulled many unbelievable feats alongside the rebel.

"And then we will travel Unova, become stronger, gather the best team, and then I, Rosa Echoes, shall become the next champion!" Rosa haughtily declared.

"Yeah, you're totally not arrogant," Hugh said sarcastically.

"Well that's some ambition though," Cheren chuckled. "But if you want to become champion, then you must know everything there is to know about Pokémon. That is the first step."

"I know that..." Rosa grumbled.

"And besides," Cheren said. "It's not like the assistant will come any sooner, so you might as well listen. There might be some information you don't know yet."

"I highly doubt that," Rosa said.

"Eelektross's ability is 'Levitate', making it immune to Ground-type attacks," Cheren suddenly said. "So how would you hit an eelektross with an 'Earthquake'?"

"It's impossible," Rosa answered. "Levitate shields it from all Ground-type attacks, thus making it impervious to Ground-type attacks. Therefore you cannot hit it with 'Earthquake'."

"And that's where you're wrong," Hugh said.

"What?! How?!" Rosa demanded.

"Hugh's right," Cheren said. "By using 'Gravity' or hitting it with 'Smack Down', you can forcibly drag it down to the ground, making it vulnerable to 'Earthquake'. Ideally, Pokémon with the ability 'Mold Breaker' can hit Eelektross with Earthquake, bypassing Levitate."

"Looks like you don't know everything," a student laughed, leading to everyone else laughing at Rosa's embarrassment.

"Now c'mon," Cheren said. "At least focus while you wait."

"Grrr..." Rosa growled as she sat down.

* * *

"Wow...this is a really great view!"

Looking towards the ongoing route neighboring Aspertia City from the tall outpost of the city was a woman with blonde hair, green eyes and had red glasses. She was wearing a low white V-neck top with a black top underneath, short green jogging bottoms and orange shoes with black soles and bows. She also had a green beret with a white bow nestled on top of her head and an orange coat. She was humming a whimsical tune as she polished a narrow case.

"This town's pretty chilly," the woman said. "Though the view from here is pretty beautiful."

She opened the case to reveal three pokéballs. The one on the right contained a green snake with large red eyes and green limbs, Snivy, the one in the middle contained an orange pig with yellow patterns and large snout, Tepig, and the one on the left contained a blue otter like creature with a shell on its torso, Oshawott.

"But today's the day!" she said. "You all are gonna meet your new trainers today. I hope you're all excited."

As she closed the case, she checked her Xtransceiver for the time.

"Uh oh. It's almost time to meet up with Cheren!" she exclaimed. "I need to get going!"

Not wanting to be late, she rushed to the stairs and descended down.

"Fueh?!" she blurted as she tripped on one of the steps and fell. "KYAAAAA!"

As she tumbled down, the case flew out of her hands, flying down the stairs. As the case collided with the pavement, the button that opened the case was smashed upon landing, opening the case and letting loose the three pokéballs. The three pokéballs fell across the floor, all of them releasing the Pokémon in them upon impact. Snivy landed on a bush, Oshawott landed near him, while Tepig landed on his rear.

"Wha...?" the woman asked as she got up, until she noticed the Pokémon. "Uh oh..."

The three starter Pokémon looked around, before running off into the city as a group.

"Ah! Wait!" the woman cried, before tripping again. "Oh no...Cheren's gonna kill me..."

* * *

As Rosa was being humiliated, Vibrava soared through the skies of Aspertia, with Eve enjoying the ride.

"-Faster! Higher!-" Eve squealed with joy.

"-Well at least you're enjoying the ride,-" Vibrava sighed.

As Vibrava soared around, he spotted something peculiar and stopped mid-flight.

"-Huh?-" Eve asked. "-What's wrong Vivi?-"

Vbrava narrowed his eyes at the sight of the school. Outside at the back of the school, he could see two figures at the back entrance, appearing to try and open it.

"-An intruder...?-" Vibrava asked.

"-Ooh, that lady's pretty!-" Eve squealed.

* * *

"Tch, locked," Nate muttered as he stopped budging with the door.

"-It's a school at broad daylight,-" Luca said. "-Of course it's gonna be locked.-"

"Figures..." Nate grumbled. "Great...we can't just waltz in from the front..."

Nate contemplated on how to get in, before brandishing a sharp knife. He looked at the lock and shoved the blade into the lock, before trying to break the lock. Emphasis on 'trying'.

"Damn it..." Nate grumbled. "C'mon, damn it, break already so I can get free food!"

Luca shook her head, before shoving him aside.

"Heh?" Nate asked.

Luca took out the knife, before shoving one of her paw spikes into it and fidgeting with it, until she managed to break the lock.

"-There you go,-" Luca said.

"I could've done that," Nate grumbled. "Whatever, let's go."

Luca nodded in response, as the two thieves snuck into the school in search of unguarded food. All while failing to notice the three small Pokémon witnessing the act, before deciding to join in on whatever it was that they were planning. The two also failed to notice that there was also a witness high in the skies, who decided to fly back to his master to inform him of the intruder.

The boy and his lucario looked around as they were about to turn around a corner, checking for any unsuspecting students, before proceeding forward, ducking a little to avoid being seen from the windows of the many classrooms down the hallway.

"Any ideas to where the mess hall would be?" Nate asked Luca.

"-How would I know? This is our first time being here,-" Luca muttered.

"Right..." Nate mumbled.

As the duo glanced around another corner, they scanned the corner for any potential rooms or witnesses. As their eyes looked around, Luca noticed a set of metallic doors with the sign 'CAFETERIA' on it.

"-Nate, look,-" Luca said, pointing to the sign.

"Hm?" Nate asked, looking towards where Luca was pointed. "Oh nice. Nice job, Luca."

The two made sure that no one was watching as they proceeded into said cafeteria. As they barged inside, they were greeted to a plethora of foods, produce, prepared foods of all sorts, meats, and even a few knives and forks.

"Jackpot," Nate grinned, taking out a bag from his cloak. "Alright, let's grab as much crap as we can."

Luca nodded, as she began to go around and gather as much food as possible, before putting it into the bag, with her trainer doing the same. While they were distracted with gathering the food, they failed to notice that three small tykes consisting of a snake, pig and otter, peered through the door, observing the two in their theft.

"-I-I think they're stealing food,-" Oshawott stuttered, while Snivy stared at them curiously.

Tepig just stared at the two thieves curiously, before approaching them.

"-T-Tepig, wait!-" Oshawott called out.

"Alright, that should be enough food," Nate said. "Let's get out of here."

As Nate closed the bag, he felt something tugging on his tights.

"Huh?" Nate asked. "What's wrong, Luca?"

"-What? I didn't do anything,-" Luca said.

Confused, Nate glanced down to the source of whoever it was that was tugging at his pants, only to find a small tepig being the culprit.

"-Hey, what'cha doing?-" the tepig asked him.

* * *

"-Hugh!-"

Vibrava quickly flew back to the classroom where his trainer is, before slamming into a window, getting everyone's attention.

"What the...?" Hugh muttered, opening the window and letting his vibrava back in. "What's the matte,r Vibrava?"

"-There's an intruder in the school!-" Vibrava quickly yelled.

Unfortunately for Vibrava, all Hugh registered was high-pitched cough-like noises.

"I can't understand you, you know this," Hugh sighed.

"What's wrong with Vibrava?" Rosa asked as Eve jumped off the bug and into her trainer's arms. "What's wrong, Eve?"

"-Rosa! Rosa! We saw a guy and a pretty lady sneak into the school!-" Eve barked.

"Wha...?" Rosa asked, only being able to hear the eevee's barking.

"NGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!"

A loud scream echoed throughout the hallways, vibrating through the

"What was that?" Cheren asked. "...You all stay here."

With that, Cheren left the room, leaving the students to themselves and their Pokémon.

"What's going on...?"

"What was that scream?"

"Who made that, exactly?"

The room began to fill with whispers amongst the students, while Rosa and Hugh were curiously looking out through the door that Professor Cheren had left through.

"You think someone got hurt?" Rosa asked.

"I don't know..." Hugh said. "Although...we can do nothing but wait here, I guess..."

Rosa puffed her cheeks in annoyance. Truthfully, she wanted to investigate the source of the scream as well. If she could solve the problem, then she would be able to prove to her professor her worth. That she wasn't just 'arrogant', as they claimed her to be, but competent.

In her annoyance, she failed to notice that Eve was scratching at the door.

"Huh?" Rosa muttered, finally noticing Eve scratching the door. "What's wrong?"

"-That scream! It definitely must belong to that guy who entered from the back!-" Eve barked.

"-Are you sure?-" Vibrava asked.

"-Yuh huh! I can anticipate it!-" Eve barked.

"I think Eve wants to go to the source of that scream," Hugh pointed out.

"You think so?" Rosa asked, before glancing to Eve. "Is that true, Eve?"

Eve nodded furiously, as she continued her scratching at the door. Rosa looked at Hugh, who just sighed in response.

"We're gonna get so much shit from Professor Cheren, you know this, right?" Hugh asked.

"The future champion will not stop for that," Rosa smirked.

Sighing in resignation, Hugh opened the door, as the two trainers and their partners quickly fled the classroom without anyone noticing.

* * *

"Where the hell did this tepig come from?!" Nate yelled as he backed away from it.

The tepig looked at the duo curiously, as Snivy and Oshawott joined him.

"-Wha–?! A snivy and an oshawott too?!-" Luca gasped.

"Why the hell is the Unova starter set in here?!" Nate grumbled. "I swear I didn't encounter anyone from the League or the Labs!"

As the two were trying to figure out where these three small Pokémon came from, the doors swung wide open.

"WHO'S THERE!?"

The duo shot up to see a man with jet-black hair, dressed like a faculty member of the school, barging into the cafeteria.

"Crap..." Nate muttered.

"Wha–?!" he gasped. "You...Nate...? Nate Warren!?"

"...How the hell do you know my name...?" Nate leered at the man as he slowly reached for his knives.

"You don't recognize me...?" the man asked.

"Huh...? I should recognize...?" Nate asked as he squinted his eyes at the man, before spotting the tuft of hair that stuck up. "Wait...you're the four-eyes from Castelia!"

"I have a name you know," the man grumbled. "Cheren. Cheren Heilian."

"Your last name's Heilian?" Nate asked. "That's a weird-ass name."

"Regardless," Cheren said. "I'm surprised to find you in the humble city of Aspertia. Tell me, do you plan to steal food from the school?"

"You always did look like the smart one out of your group," Nate said. "Although this deduction was pretty obvious."

"Verily," Cheren muttered. "Didn't expect you to resort to petty thievery in a public school of all places. What happened if you had gotten by one of the students? They are trainers after all."

"Oh please," Nate smirked as he took out his knife and began to toss it into the air like a baton. "This is a school meant to teach low-rank saps to become trainers, yes? Then the students here are B-rate at best."

Cheren eyed the knife the boy was tossing around nonchalantly. While the gesture itself seemed casual, the boy's eyes oozed with malevolent intent; practically daring Cheren to make a move. The boy was showing him that he has great control over the knife. He was essentially taunting him. He could use it at any given moment and end his life if he wanted to.

It was a threat. A casual one, but nonetheless an effective threat.

"And what about the teachers then?" Cheren asked, keeping a calm expression. "How do you deem them?"

Nate eyed the teacher in front of him as he stopped tossing his knife.

"...Does this city have a gym?" Nate asked.

"You're in it," Cheren responded.

"Who's the gym leader?"

"Me."

Nate eyes widened in genuine shock, before breaking down into a malicious giggle.

"If you're the gym leader, then that makes you the top in this 'school'," Nate cackled. "Then I _really_ don't have to worry about anyone else here."

"Oh? How arrogant," Cheren said as he reached for a pokéball.

"Please, you remember back at Plasma's castle," Nate smiled. "You remember how strong Luca and I were?"

At the mention of her name, Luca aimed her paw at the teacher, before charging it with a blue aura. Cheren leered at the bipedal canine as he took a step back.

"I wonder..." Nate mused. "After two years...are you strong enough to take me on? Eh, 'Cowlick'?"

The two boys leered at each other, daring the other to make a move. Suddenly the doors barged open one more, this time hitting Cheren from behind.

"Evildoer! Prepare yourself!" a rather arrogant girl yelled.

"What're you doing?" a rather annoyed boy asked.

Cheren fell down as two kids barged into the cafeteria, gaining everyone's attention.

"What the hell?" Nate asked.

"Rosa?! Hugh?!" Cheren yelled. "What're you doing here?!"

While Cheren gave the two a disapproving glare, Nate saw the distraction as an opportunity.

"Hey morons catch!" Nate yelled as he kicked Snivy and Oshawott at the two trainers.

"What the–?!" Hugh blurted as he caught Snivy, as Rosa caught Oshawott.

While everyone was distracted, Nate and Luca pushed past the two and made a dash for the door, sprinting down the halls.

"Hey wait!" Cheren yelled.

Rosa and Hugh set down the tykes they caught as they got out of the cafeteria with their own Pokémon.

"Oh no he's getting away!" Rosa exclaimed before giving chase.

"Thanks for the tip, Captain Obvious!" Hugh growled in annoyance as he followed her.

As Cheren got back up, he noticed a sack, presumably filled with the food they were going to steal lying on the floor.

"What...?" Cheren asked. "Then what did they take...?"

* * *

Throwing the idea of stealth out of the window, Nate and Luca rushed down the halls in escape.

"GET BACK HERE!"

Nate and Luca glanced behind to see Rosa and Hugh chasing after them.

"Tch! Persistent little brats..." Nate grumbled.

"-They're probably the same age as you though,-" Luca muttered.

"Whatever," Nate said. "We got what we came for anyways."

As Nate looked forward, Luca glanced down to what was in Nate's hand, before her jaw dropped.

"What? What's wrong?" Nate asked, taking a look at what he was carrying.

What was supposed to be a sack of food, was actually a small fire pig, hanging by the tail that was in his hand.

"-So where're we going?-" Tepig asked them.

"WHAT THE FU–?!" Nate screamed. "Where did this thing come from?!"

"-You must've grabbed the tepig instead of the food!-" Luca yelled.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Nate yelled, before making a halt. "Oh hell no! I came here for food! Not some random ass fire pig!"

"-Nate wait they're still–!-" Luca yelled as Nate turned around to retrieve his free food.

But Luca's words couldn't reach her trainer, as Nate ran back, completely forgetting that he had people chasing after him in favor of forgotten food.

"GUAH!?"

"KYA?!"

Luca ran after her master, and as she made the turn, she made a full halt at the sight to behold.

"Well now," Hugh said as he had halted as well.

"Ugh...wha...? What happened...?" Nate grumbled.

As Nate regained consciousness from colliding into something, he was greeted to a rather...soft feeling.

"What the...what is this...?" Nate asked, as he grabbed it out of curiosity and squeezed it. "It feels so soft and warm...who the hell put a cushion on the floor...?"

"-N–Nate...-" Luca stammered.

Nate looked up to Luca, before looking to what he was caressing in his hand. He then shifted his gaze to Rosa, who was completely red, before putting two and two together.

"...I didn't mean to I swear," was all the boy said.

* * *

Nate slowly opened his eyes in pain.

"Ugh...what happened...?" Nate groaned. "Ow...my head hurts..."

As Nate regained consciousness, he found himself tied up with Luca back to back; unable to break through the rope.

"When the hell...?" Nate muttered. "Luca? You there?"

"-Yo,-" Luca muttered.

"What happened?" Nate asked. "When did I lose consciousness?"

"-Well after you groped that girl,-" Luca explained. "-She punched you while screaming 'PERVERT!', and then that teacher showed up and restrained the both of us.-"

"Why didn't you escape?"

"-You know I'd rather die than abandon you.-"

"Do I have my knives on me?"

"-The teacher confiscated them.-"

"Hmm...Do I still have my shoe knives?"

"-Do you see your shoes? And besides I don't think it'll be effective in breaking out without being detected.-"

"I guess...where are we anyways?"

"Having fun there?"

Both Nate and Luca looked up to see Cheren looming above them, with all of his students behind him. Nate noticed that among the group, the girl he had (accidently) groped was giving him a murderous glare. He also noticed the three small Pokémon from before; the snivy was with the boy with spiky blue hair (which reminded him of a qwilfish), the oshawott was with the girl, while the tepig was staring at him curiously. As Nate stared at Cheren, he nudged at Luca without the adult noticing. Luca, who got the message, began to cut at the rope with one of her paw spikes.

"So...why haven't you turned me over to the police yet?" Nate asked.

"Yeah!" Rosa yelled angrily from behind.

"Yes, doing so would be the logical thing to do under normal circumstances," Cheren said. "But then again, there aren't 'normal' circumstances."

"...Meaning?" Nate asked.

"Oh you wouldn't believe how much the others back at Juniper's lab wanted to meet you," Cheren said. "More specifically, how much they wanted the information you potentially have."

"Like?"

"You were presumably dead for eight years; now ten years. Who knows what you've been up to in that kind of time frame," Cheren explained. "You most likely have explored the entire region, even the parts that we haven't explored yet. New landmarks, new towns, and especially the new population and species of Pokémon introduced into Unova due to the climate change and due to the interference of Andrew Park."

"And what makes you think I know anything about some scientist?" Nate asked.

"Because you're the one who informed Hilbert about him," Cheren said. "You're the one who gave him the address to his lab. And according to him, you were also involved in the preliminary tests in introducing new species of Pokémon not originally native to Unova."

"Damn it Hilbert..." Nate cursed as he quickly checked up on Luca's progress.

"Face it. You know more about Unova than the Junipers do at the moment," Cheren said. "You're a walking gold mine of information to them. And as one of the former wielders of the pokédex, it's my duty to get that information for their sake."

"Oh is it now," Nate said. "Emphasis on 'former' by the way. You have no more necessary ties to them. Meaning you don't have to do this. You should be focusing more on your teaching career, in my opinion. Harboring a thief like this is going against ethics as it is."

"Perhaps," Cheren didn't seem fazed at all. "But then again, there are other reasons that doesn't involve the Junipers."

"Oh?" Nate actually looked curious.

"You suddenly reappear after your last appearance two years ago," Cheren said. "Why? And why come to here of all places?"

Nate leered at the raven-haired veteran. He was on to something.

"...Luca and I were just in town," Nate replied calmly. "And we required some food. Knowing our...ability to actually purchase food, we had no choice but to scavenge it ourselves."

"...Makes sense," Cheren decided to accept that answer. "Then maybe you know."

"...Know what?" Nate asked.

Cheren's expression became grim, as he narrowed his eyes at Nate.

"...The whereabouts of your brother and foster sister..." Cheren said.

"What?" Nate asked flatly.

"Hilbert and Hilda both disappeared a year ago," Cheren said. "We lost contact to them ever since. We don't know where they went. Perhaps you know where they went. Or a reason that required them to disappear from Unova. From us."

The two leered at each other, unwaveringly testing to see who would slip up first.

"...Hell if I knew where Hilbert went," Nate said. "The last time I saw him was two years ago after he woke up from the fight against Ghetsis. And knowing Hilda and her obsession for 'Big Bro', wherever Hilbert goes, Hilda will follow no matter what. You're asking the wrong guy, 'Cowlick'. I wouldn't know where they went. Although I would like to know where the hell they ran off to."

"And why is that?" Cheren asked.

"That's my business, and mine alone," Nate spat.

As the two began to glare daggers at one another, the students behind their beloved teacher began to look curious, confused, and above all intimidated. The expression their benevolent and kind-hearted teacher was giving to the boy was something akin to a man looking down upon another man with arrogance, scorn, and disgust. They never saw this kind of side from him.

"...Wait...'Hilbert'...?" Rosa murmured.

"? What's wrong?" Hugh asked.

No, it couldn't be. The boy couldn't possibly be referring to...but then again, so was Professor Cheren, and there was only one 'Hilbert' her soon-to-be former professor could possibly refer to.

"Hey," Rosa called out to Nate, stepping out of the crowd. "By 'Hilbert'...you couldn't possibly mean 'Hilbert Warren', do you?"

Nate gave Rosa an incredulous look, before replying.

"Yeah, that's the one. So what of it?" Nate asked.

"Wha–?!" Rosa gasped, genuinely surprised. "What possible connection could you and Hilbert Warren possibly have?"

"Rosa...well since there's no going around this, all of you might as well hear this," Cheren sighed. "This boy is 'Nate Warren'. He is the legitimate younger brother of Hilbert Warren."

The crowd of students gasped as all eyes turned to the boy in question, who had a rather bored look on his face.

"Wha...?! N-No! That can't be!" Rosa gaped. "You can't possibly be related to a hero like Hilbert Warren! I mean...!"

"Oh?" Nate asked, an eyebrow arching in curiosity. "It looks like my big bro got himself a few fans. I guess being a national hero would do that...listen girl. Facts are facts. Whether you like it or not, I'm his little brother."

"But...no one ever mentioned anything about him having a younger brother!" Rosa argued. "Especially a low life pervert like you who resorts to stealing food from facilities..."

"Oh we're really going down that route, eh?" Nate snickered. "Look, girl. The world's not nice. While you might've been pampered all of your life with crap like 'hospitality' or a 'roof under your head' and etcetera, I had none of that. I have to work for my food. I have to scavenge to survive. Of course you wouldn't ever be able to understand something like that, princess. And I told you that was an accident! Frankly who the hell do you think you are anyways?"

"My name is not 'princess'," Rosa growled. "I am Rosa Echoes. Future champion of Unova."

Nate's eyes widened slightly, before the boy began to break down into a howling laughter.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh my god that is hilarious!" Nate cackled.

"Wha–?!" Rosa gasped in furious shock and embarrassment.

"Cowlick, is this chick your student?" Nate asked between laughs. "She is hilarious! Oh that arrogance of hers is something to behold."

"I am not arrogant!" Rosa yelled.

"Oh please," Nate exclaimed. "Already declaring yourself the 'future champion of Unova', when all you have is a stupid eevee. How is that _not_ arrogant?"

"-Hey I am not stupid!-" Eve growled. "-And Rosa is not arrogant!-"

"You even think like her," Nate snickered at Eve. "Newsflash fox. She's pretty full of herself if she thinks she's guaranteed to become the next champion."

"You can understand Eve?" Hugh asked in genuine shock.

"Impossible!" Rosa argued.

"It's true," Cheren said. "Like Hilbert, Nate can understand Pokémon. Nay, even better than Hilbert can."

"I refuse to believe such lies!" Rosa yelled.

"Why? Is it because some 'low life' like me is tarnishing your precious hero's image?" Nate taunted. "Girl. Your hero isn't as perfect as you believe he is. Just letting you know there."

"That is enough," Cheren said before Nate could provoke Rosa any further. "I will not tolerate you besmirching my students any longer."

"Whatever," Nate simply scoffed.

Cheren glared at Nate, before an idea came into his mind.

"Then perhaps, how about we have a wager?" Cheren offered.

That genuinely peaked Nate's attention.

"What kind of wager?" Nate asked.

"As a gym leader, it is my duty to accept challenger's requests for a gym battle for the gym's badge," Cheren began. "If you were to challenge me as a 'challenger', then I would have no choice but to comply."

"I'm listening," Nate said.

"How about you and I battle?" Cheren offered. "One on One. If I win, then you're coming with me. If you win, then you can go scot-free."

"Are you serious, Professor?!" Rosa gasped. "Why don't we just call the police on him right–!?"

"Deal," Nate grinned. "Never thought you would actually fish out for a fight with me. Remember the last time we had a scuffle back at Castelia?"

"The past is the past. The present is the present," Cheren said. "And to accommodate with your current level, I'll impose the 'Challenge Mode.'"

"'Challenge Mode?" Rosa asked.

"It's an option that gym leaders offer for trainers with more experience that was imposed by the new champion," Hugh explained to her. "Each gym leader have a separate team that they can use from based on the challenger's experience. The gym leader is usually required to use a preset team that the league approves for all challengers regardless of experience, but for more experienced challengers, the gym leaders can use their own team; unrestricted by the league except for the assigned type the gym is representing."

"So when we challenged Professor Cheren..." Rosa asked.

"We were simply fighting him at a standard difficulty," Hugh finished.

Nate grinned maliciously.

"That sounds interesting," Nate said. "Alright, deal. You'll need that 'Challenge Mode' or whatever, if you want to stand a chance against me with the league keeping you under a leash."

"Alas, you are right," Cheren sighed. "With the Unova League's restrictions on my team, I have to use a different team. Yes, with this, I can use my usual partners in battle."

"'Usual partners'...?" Rosa asked. "Does that mean...?"

"I dunno what he used against you two," Nate said, referring to both Rosa and Hugh. "But it's obvious he had to hold back against you two. Let me guess. First badge?"

The two nodded hesitantly.

"Yep, there was no way he could've used his party from his journey against a couple of novices," Nate chastised.

"Wha–Novices?!" Rosa growled in annoyance.

"Yep, 'novices'," Nate simply smiled as Luca finally got the rope ripped, and tore it in half, freeing herself and her master. "Unlike Luca and I."

Rosa tried to make a rebuttal, but the pressure that Luca gave off as she stepped up in front of her master denied any attempts at it. Infuriating he might be, the boy was not lying. Even she could understand that the lucario in his possession was something she nor Hugh could not currently step up to. It would annihilate them.

"So? What're you waiting for, Cowlick?" Nate faced Cheren. "You ready to fight or what?"

Cheren simply adjusted his tie as he walked over to his desk and opened a drawer revealing six pokéballs.

"Try to wait until we get outside," Cheren sighed as he picked up a pokéball. "Let us head to the battle field. You all may come to watch as well."

As Nate, Luca and Cheren headed out to the battle field, the students began to follow their teacher, curious to see this gym battle under the 'Challenge Mode'. Rosa squeezed Eve in her arms a little too tightly, as she trotted after them, infuriated by the cockiness of the boy and how he humiliated him, and wishing to see her professor wipe the smirk off of his face. As Hugh followed his enraged friend, he noticed that the oshawott, while intimidated by her, nonetheless followed her. Hugh then noticed that Snivy was content with resting in his arms, while Tepig was rushing ahead, trying to get past the barricade of students.

"...This is interesting, to say the least," Hugh said.

* * *

Soon enough, they were at the battle field. A standardly designed one, made out in chalk that spread out wide, making a huge rectangular border that took up the majority of the field of dirt and sand. Nate stood towards the challenger's side, while Cheren took his place on a podium where the gym leader's side is positioned at, with all of his students standing at the sidelines.

"Like what I said before," Cheren said. "A one on one single battle. Whoever's Pokémon faints first will be declared the loser."

"Simple enough," Nate said. "Luca!"

At his signal, Luca jumped over her master and landed in front of him, on her side of the battle field, putting up a fighting stance, ready for whatever opponent she must face.

"So? What're you gonna lead with? Perhaps that serperior of yours?" Nate asked.

"My gym's representing type is 'Normal'," Cheren said as he lifted his pokéball. "Even in 'Challenge Mode', I must abide to that type."

With that being said, Cheren unleashed his Pokémon. It represented a gamebird; primarily dark gray with lighter gray markings. The light gray markings consist of a heart-shaped patch covering its face and throat, two patches divided by a lacy line on its wings, and intricate stripes with dark rimming on its tail feather. The bird had a reddish pink, wattle around its eyes with long, ribbon-like growths from the wattle extend over its head and down past its shoulders.

"Unfezant, the proud Pokémon!" Cheren declared. "One of my trusted partners that aided my endeavors during my journey!"

"Right...this thing is a Normal/Flying-type," Nate muttered.

The students were shocked and impressed by the powerful and regal-looking bird, unaware that their professor owned such a bird.

"Incredible..." Rosa gaped at the sight of it.

Luca simply leered at her opponent, unwavering and not letting go of her stance. Unfezant glanced at Luca, before sporting a genuinely surprised look. He recognized this Pokémon, and just how deadly she was ever since two years ago. He spread out his wings before slowly ascending to the air, ready to fend off against his adversary.

"This looks promising," Nate grinned. "Come at me, Cheren!"

"I won't hold back, Nate Warren!" Cheren yelled.

Responding to their trainer's cries, Luca and Unfezant charged at each other, colliding with one another into a stalemate.

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN** : This looks like a good place to end it off. And thus concludes the first chapter of Pride of Your Soul, where next time it's Nate vs Cheren!

Anyways, if you like it, great for you. Make sure to favorite and follow to stay up-to-date when a new chapter gets published. If not, well sorry for wasting your time and thanks for wasting your time on this. And again, reviews, critiques and advice on how I can make this story better are welcome, so make sure you do that.

Oh and one more thing: with this, the poll on my profile (for those of you who knew/cared) will come to a close once this gets published and I get some sleep. It's like what, 1 AM or something where I am right now? I'll close down the poll and announce the winner afterwards, so stay tuned to that.

EDIT: Poll's over, and it looks like XY is next. Normally it would be a good idea to write that after this story is over, but instead I plan to write it alongside with this story. Stay tuned for that.

Alright, I got nothing else to say, so I'll see ya next time!


	2. 02: Recruitment

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 2: Recruitment**

* * *

 **AN:** And welcome back to Pride of Your Soul! Hope you enjoy chapter 2.

And I should've addressed this in the first chapter. For those of you who are new here:

"-words-" is Pokemon speaking. While they are 'speaking' per say, humans cannot hear or understand them, only hearing their cries etc, save for a select few (i.e. Nate).

Now on with the fight!

* * *

Luca and Unfezant were locked into a stalemate; each refusing to be overpowered and trying to overcome the other.

"Tch, they're evenly matched..." Nate muttered. "Fall back and use Aura Sphere!"

Luca quickly jumped back while Unfezant did the same, as she charged blue aura into her paw, before aiming it at the bird.

"-Eat this!-" Luca growled as a stream of blue spheres shot out from it and at Unfezant in rapid succession.

Unfezant flew back at a tremendous speed, avoiding all of the spheres as Luca kept following Unfezant as he flew.

"Retaliate with Air Slash!" Cheren commanded.

As Unfezant got back, his wings began to glow. Unfezant flapped them at Luca, sending a myriad amount of blades of air at the canine.

"Block it with Bone Rush!" Nate yelled.

Luca, in response, clasped her paws together and pulled them apart, where another staff of energy formed between them, which she grabbed and twirled rapidly, shielding herself from the storm of blades before brandishing it.

"As expected, Nate," Cheren mused.

"You got a little better, Cowlick," Nate said.

As Unfezant flied around Luca from up above the air, he proceeded to unleash more air slashes at Luca, who had no choice but to defend while to try and shoot the bird down with her aura spheres. Unfezant kept gaining altitude, reaching a point where Luca's aura spheres couldn't reach him.

"Now, Air Slash on the ground!" Cheren yelled.

Unfezant aimed one of his air slashes at the field and shot it, the resulting impact creating a huge dust cloud, blinding Luca.

"-Damn it!-" Luca cussed as she quickly dispersed the dust with her staff.

By the time she cleared it up, however, Unfezant was already charging at her.

"Return!"

"Damn it, Extreme Speed!"

As Unfezant charged at Luca with great force, Luca brandished her staff and disappeared just as Unfezant was about to make contact, causing the bird to halt in surprise.

"-Wha–!? Where did she–?!-" Unfezant gasped as he looked around.

"Above you!" Cheren yelled.

Unfezant glanced up, where Luca was already descending to the bird; staff ready to smash into his head. Unfezant quickly flew away, avoiding Luca's assault and retreated to his master. The impact from Luca's assault, however, managed to make a large fault in the battlefield, and broke her staff in half. Luca glanced behind her, as Unfezant got in front of Cheren once more, before glancing to Nate for his next order.

"Go in close," Nate commanded. "Use any distractions you need."

Luca nodded as she suddenly hurled the broken half of her staff at Unfezant, before rushing in. Unfezant swatted away the broken piece, but couldn't shield himself as Luca fired more aura spheres at him. As the bird got pelted by the projectiles, Luca rushed in and delivered a powerful knee jab to Unfezant, before following it up with several punches and finishing it by grabbing Unfezant and throwing him over her, slamming him into the ground. As Unfezant tried to recover from the blow, Luca smashed her foot into his gut, before proceeding to stomp on the bird mercilessly.

"Damn it, get out of there!" Cheren yelled.

As Luca mercilessly stomped on Unfezant, the bird pecked at her foot with enough force to stop her from continuing her assault.

"-Kh!-" Luca swore as she tried to ease the pain of her foot.

As Unfezant flew back, Luca prepared another Bone Rush staff before engaging the bird.

"Why use a Ground-type move on a Flying-type?" Cheren muttered, questioning Luca's actions. "Stay sharp, Unfezant!"

"Create cover!" Nate yelled.

Luca obliged by slamming the tip of the staff on the ground, before quickly and violently making a circle around herself, creating another dust cloud, shielding her from Unfezant's sight.

"-Tch!-" Unfezant cursed, shielding his eyes from the dust.

From the dust cloud, Luca's staff shot out like a harpoon, nailing the bird by the head. As Unfezant tried to fly away to safety, Luca stormed out from the dust and jumped, grabbing Unfezant's legs and slamming him to the ground. As Unfezant was in the middle of recovering from being slammed into the ground once more, Luca's staff flew down to her, which she caught in midair and struck at Unfezant with it like he was a golf ball. As Unfezant flew back, Luca pursued the bird, ready to pummel him once more.

"Fall back, Unfezant!" Cheren commanded. "Into the sky! Double Team!"

As Luca was about to strike Unfezant's head once more, Unfezant suddenly duplicated himself into two, avoiding the strike, before vanishing completely.

"-Huh?!-" Luca gasped as she looked around to see where her foe had disappeared to.

"Goddamn it," Nate muttered as he was looking above her.

Luca looked up to see a whole horde of Unfezants, all looming above her and all scattered across the sky.

"-Wha–?!-" Luca gaped at the sight.

"Oh this is gonna be annoying..." Nate muttered.

* * *

As the two were battling it out, the students just stood back and spectated the entire battle. They were amazed at how intense the battle was. It kept swaying from one side to another, one side getting the upper hand, to the other side turning the tables, and vice versa and repeat. The challenger and their professor were equal; neither side getting any specific upper advantage. Even if they did it was quickly taken back by their opponent, before wrestling it back.

"Holy shit..." Hugh muttered in shock. "This is way different from our gym battles..."

Snivy, Tepig and Oshawott all just stared at the two powerful Pokémon and their trainers in awe; Tepig being the most entranced out of the three by the boy and his lucario; getting excited when Luca had the upper hand, then becoming a little depressed and worried whenever Luca lost the advantage.

"-Wow...she's pretty and strong...-" Eve said as she observed Luca hurling her staff like a wheel at the horde and taking out three clones, before looking up to Rosa. "-Rosa...?-"

Rosa, meanwhile, was speechless. She refused to believe that this thief was related to her beloved hero. Someone as underhanded and cruel (to her at least) could never be related to someone as brave and noble like Hilbert, even if they did share the same surname. Her hero had more valor than the thief could possibly muster. The thief was much more cynical and manipulative like a snake.

His strength, on the other hand, was something she couldn't deny was stupendous. His lucario was keeping up with her professor's unfezant. The Normal/Flying type was one of her professor's best partners, being one of the party members he had used during his journey with her hero. It was certainly a veteran, and was undeniably powerful when combined with her professor's quick thinking and battling sense. Yet despite this, the thief's lucario, who, by what she could tell, was more or less similar to the boy in terms of personality, was keeping up with the veteran Pokémon, being able to pressure him and get an advantage, while wrestling it back whenever Unfezant stole it from her.

The bun-haired girl clenched her teeth. She refused to believe that this lowlife could possibly be related to her hero. She refused to admit that this lowlife was undoubtedly stronger than her. She refused to admit that maybe, this lowlife, who had humiliated her even more than her classmates, childhood friend, and teacher, was more on the truth than she wished.

"Kick his ass, Professor!" Rosa roared.

And thus, she wanted nothing more than for him to taste defeat.

* * *

"Well looks like someone doesn't like me," Nate mused as he heard the girl cheering on her professor.

"-Well you did kinda grope her,-" Luca pointed out as she swiped her staff to destroy another clone.

"Hey that was an accident and you know it," Nate defended himself.

"-Regardless,-" Luca said as she jumped over an incoming clone. "-That type is someone who's proud. Arrogant, maybe, but she no doubt has an ample amount of pride in herself, and in her beliefs. And you just had to crush said pride without a bat of an eye.-"

Nate leered at his partner as he watched her jump back and fire off some more rounds of aura spheres at three charging clones.

"...You know that I find those kinds of human beings to be pathetic," Nate scowled. "They think the world revolves around them. They think it will bend to their whim. They don't know suffering."

"-Isn't it a bit hasty to judge that?-" Luca offered her two cents. "-You don't know her or her past. And neither does she know of yours.-"

"...To your left by the way," Nate said, choosing to put what she said elsewhere in favor of focusing on the battle.

Luca jumped to her right, avoiding a clone charging at her from the left and giving her enough room to punch the clone away.

"This is getting us nowhere," Nate muttered as he saw the sea of clones that was unwavering. "Search out the real one."

Luca nodded, before closing her eyes. Her four head appendages began to float, emitting a blue aura around herself.

"Trying to sense the real Unfezant with 'Aura', eh?" Cheren mused, realizing what the lucario was doing. "Then there's no point in hiding. Unfezant! End this now! Sky Attack!"

A strong light began to shine from within the crowd, gaining Nate's attention, while Luca cut off her aura search. One unfezant in the middle of the crowd was cloaked in that same harsh light.

"Bingo," Nate said. "Luca! Stop him before he can finish the attack!"

Letting out a snarl, Luca prepped another Bone Rush staff, as she jumped for the real Unfezant.

"Stop her!" Cheren yelled.

The clones began to swarm at Luca, forcing her down to the ground as the real one continued to prepare his attack. Luca violently swung her staff, bashing as many clones as she can while finding an opening. As she finished off the last clone, she set her sights towards the true Unfezant, who had got out of his resting position, signaling the finish to his preparations.

"Now, Sky Attack!"

Unfezant charged at Luca with all of his might, now surrounded by intense flames from the sheer power and heat of the light. Luca tried to avoid it, but the peck Unfezant had dealt to her foot earlier caused her to wince in pain as she stepped on it wrong, and made her falter in front of the attack.

"-Son of a bi–!-" Luca grunted.

The bird smashed into Luca with all the strength he could muster, sending the dog flying and crashing through a window of the school behind Nate.

"Oh that looked like it hurt..." Nate could only wince at the impact, before noting the shattered window that (did little) to cushion Luca's crash.

"Oh I'm gonna have to take responsibility for that one," Cheren groaned as Unfezant looked at him apologetically.

"Not my fault by the way," Nate quickly called out. "Luca! You alright over there?"

From the rubble of wood and glass, Luca emerged from it, coughing from the crushed rubble and dust.

"-That hurt like hell...-" Luca groaned in pain.

"I would imagine," Nate snickered. "Can you still fight?"

After dusting herself off, Luca cracked her knuckles and got back to her fighting stance.

"Great...I break a wall of the school, and she still manages to recover from it," Cheren sighed. "But at least we were able to do significant damage."

Nate focused back to the battle as Luca took her stance, but began to wobble a little.

"We better finish this up quickly," Nate muttered. "You won't last much longer."

"-I-I'm fine,-" Luca assured him, but her wobbling said otherwise.

"Doubt it," Nate said. "We're finishing this now."

"I agree," Cheren said, noticing Unfezant's fatigue. "Let's end this now! Unfezant, Air Slash!"

As Unfezant prepared to unleash more blades of air at Luca, Luca charged forward.

"Dark Pulse!"

Luca jumped in front of Unfezant as he was about to shoot his air slash and released a wave of dark aura at the bird, stopping his attack, and sending him back a distance.

"Unfezant!" Cheren cried.

"Now, let's finish this! Aura Sphere! Full Charge!" Nate yelled.

Luca stepped back and brought both of her paws together and behind her, where aura from both paws began to charge and concentrate into one, giant orb of aura.

"Unfezant stop her!" Cheren yelled.

But the unfezant didn't budge, seemingly dazed from the attack.

"What the–?! Damn it, Dark Pulse must've flinched him!" Cheren cursed.

By the time Cheren realized that Unfezant had flinched, the aura sphere that Luca was charging reached an abnormally large size and ready to burst at any moment.

"-EAT THIS!-" Luca roared as she shot it at the bird at point-blank range.

The aura sphere blasted the bird, sending it flying and crashing into the podium that Cheren was standing on.

"Unfezant!" Cheren cried.

As the smoke cleared from the impact, Unfezant was sprawled along the floor, completely unconscious, signaling his fainted status.

* * *

Nate sighed a little, before calming down.

"That was a lot closer than expected, I'll be honest," Nate said. "You got a hella lot better, Cowlick."

"Thanks, although my name is Cheren," Cheren sighed as he tended to Unfezant. "Well done, Unfezant. You deserve a nice long rest."

As Cheren recalled his unfezant, Nate went over to Luca, who fell down to one knee.

"You alright there?" Nate asked.

"-That was close...-" Luca panted.

"I told you," Nate sighed. "Still...nice job there. I think you should take a rest though."

Before Luca could protest, Nate quickly took out a pokéball and recalled Luca into it. The thief glanced to the side, noticing the crowd who just stood there speechless at their professor's defeat, before noticing Rosa's expression; one of shock, as if she couldn't comprehend what had just happened.

"Like I said," Nate said to her specifically. "There was no way he could go all out against a novice like you."

"What?!" Rosa growled.

"Oh? Did I hurt your feelings?" Nate asked rather mockingly.

"Don't instigate my students," Cheren groaned.

"Whatever," Nate scoffed, completely ignoring the enraged Rosa. "Now, a deal's a deal. I'll just be on my way then–."

As Nate was about to leave, Tepig rushed out from the crowd and tackled him down.

"What the hell?!" Nate blurted as the pig knocked him down. "Huh?! What the–?!"

"-That was so AWESOME!-" Tepig squealed to Nate. "-That lady was like BLAM! And the bird flew around like PEW PEW PEW and the lady kept punching and stomping on him and shooting him! And that last part was so epic!-"

"Uh, thanks, I guess?" Nate responded, not sure of what to say as Snivy and Oshawott decided to join Tepig. "By the way why's there a wild tepig here, anyways?"

"Hm? You didn't bring them here?" Cheren asked Nate, referring to Tepig, Oshawott and Snivy.

"Of course not! These little buggers are the reason I couldn't get free food," Nate grumbled.

"Then...perhaps..." Cheren muttered.

"UM! EXCUSE ME!"

Everyone turned around to the entrance, as a woman with short blonde hair and wearing an orange coat barged in.

"Have any of you seen three small...?" the woman began to ask, before spotting the three tykes in the crowd. "Ah! There they are!"

"I should've known," Cheren sighed.

As the woman ran up to the trio, she noticed Cheren, and instantly paled.

"CHEREN!? Uh–I mean, hi Cheren, fancy seeing you here..." she stammered.

"So these were the set of starters that are supposed to go to the pokédex holders," Cheren said. "And what happened? How did they escape?"

"I uh...accidentally dropped the case that contained their pokéballs..." Bianca began to explain nervously. "And...The pokéballs ended up releasing them and they ran..."

Cheren sighed as Bianca fiddled with her thumbs nervously.

"I'm sorry..." Bianca said quietly.

"It's alright, Bianca," Cheren assured her. "Accidents happen. More importantly are you okay? You said you tripped, so are you hurt?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine," Bianca responded. "It was just a small scratch anyways. Nothing to worry about."

"Oh, okay then," Bianca said, before noticing Nate. "Huh?! You're that boy from–!?"

"Huh?" Nate asked, before squinting at Bianca. "Hey, you're that blonde ditz who was friends with Hilbert and Cowlick!"

"C-Cowlick...?" Bianca held back the urge to laugh at his nickname for whom she could only assume is for Cheren.

"You do realize that he called you an airhead, right?" Cheren shot back to her.

"Oh..." Bianca sulked after he mentioned that part.

"Anyways," Nate muttered. "Since I won, I'll just be on my way then..."

Cheren glanced at Nate as he backed away slowly, before suddenly releasing a large, pale green serpentine Pokémon that lunged at Nate.

"What the–!?" Nate blurted as the serpentine wrapped around him, ensnaring him with its tail.

"Nice work, Serperior," Cheren smiled at the snake.

"You bastard..." Nate growled. "We had a deal!"

"Did you honestly expect me to just let you go so easily?" Cheren asked, earning a rather incredulous look from the boy. "Looks like this time I was able to fool you."

"You son of a–!" Nate snarled at the raven-haired teacher.

"Iron Tail."

Before Nate could break free, Serperior's tail began to glow a metallic luster, and smashed it against Nate's head.

"Conniving...little..." Nate muttered before falling unconscious.

"There, that should keep him quiet for a few hours," Cheren said.

"Uh, Cheren...?" Bianca asked, questioning her friend's tactics. "Are you sure that was the best way to handle it?"

"Bianca, you and I both know that the boy is too valuable in terms of information to just let him go so easily, wager be damned," Cheren replied. "And you know what he's capable of. This is necessary to keep him quiet and from running away."

"Well...if you say so," Bianca said uneasily, still questioning Cheren's methods.

* * *

"Uh...Professor..." Hugh decided to make himself known. "Who is this?"

"Right," Cheren said, facing his class. "Everyone, this is Bianca Belle. She's a friend of mine who is also working as a research assistant for Professor Juniper."

"Hello!" Bianca greeted the class.

"She's the assistant to Professor Juniper that's supposed to come today?" Rosa asked.

"Yes she is, Rosa," Cheren said. "Bianca, this is Rosa Echoes and Hugh Matis. The two trainers I told you about."

"Oh, so these two are gonna get the pokédexes," Bianca said, before facing them. "Hello there, you two."

"Hello there," Rosa said as she and Hugh stepped up to her.

"Why you two look like fine young trainers," Bianca complimented. "I have a really important request to ask you! Will you help us complete the Pokédex?"

"Of course, Miss Bianca!" Rosa exclaimed.

Hugh simply nodded in acknowledgment.

"Great!" Bianca exclaimed. "And while this isn't the proper way to do it...Ta-daaa!"

She turned their attention to the three small Pokémon that she had been looking for.

"These are the Pokémon that will become your partner for your journey!" Bianca exclaimed, before taking note to Eve and Vibrava. "Although it looks like you already have Pokémon, I hope you'll accept them as well."

"Of course we will, Miss Bianca," Rosa assured her.

"Now, you each can only choose one of them, though," Bianca said.

"Fair enough, and I choose Oshawott!" Rosa instantly declared, surprising the timid otter.

"Wow that was fast," Bianca noted. "Oshawott, eh? Great choice! I remember Hilbert choosing Oshawott as well."

As Rosa picked up the Water-type starter, Serperior couldn't help but note the small otter's timid nature as she was picked up, and couldn't help but chuckle a little. The otter here was a shy creature; a stark contrast to the oshawott he knew personally back in his journey. He was **much** more barbaric than this one; always quick to pick a fight and prone to having a short temper. It took him evolving into a samurott and the given situation him and his partner was in to finally mature, or mellow out at the very least.

"Hello there," Rosa said to Oshawott. "My name is Rosa. You and I will be going on a journey together, where we'll surely become the greatest of all Unova."

"-R-Really?-" Oshawott asked, unsure of the girl's declaration.

"Now, what to call you," Rosa mumbled, contemplating on a nickname to give to her new addition. "Oshawott...huh...oh I know! I'll call you 'Ottavia'!"

"-O-Ottavia?-" Oshawott asked, confused about her new 'name'.

"Ottavia?" Hugh asked his childhood friend.

"Take the 'ott' from Oshawott, and there you go," Rosa explained herself. "So what do you think? Great, right?"

"-I-I guess it's okay,-" Oshawott, no 'Ottavia', answered.

Meanwhile, Eve, Rosa's eevee, who had been next to Rosa, leaped up onto Rosa's shoulder to greet her new friend.

"-Hi there Ottavia!-" Eve exclaimed. "-I'm Eve! We're gonna be great friends!-"

"-H-Hi,-" Ottavia greeted shyly.

"Ottavia! That's such a great name!" Bianca exclaimed.

"Isn't it?" Rosa beamed.

Hugh simply rolled his eyes as he focused his attention on the remaining two starters available. The grass snake, Snivy, or the fire pig, Tepig. Considering that his main partner, Vibrava, was a Ground and Dragon-type, then choosing Tepig would be the most logical choice; a Fire-type would complement Vibrava greatly, taking care of his severe Ice-type weakness, while Vibrava can handle Ground-types that threaten the Fire-type, thanks to his immunity to the type with 'Levitate', and would fare much better against Rock and Water-types than Tepig would. And Hugh was aware of Tepig's final evolution; the Fire/Fighting warrior, Emboar, which was an even better answer to Ice-types.

In contrast, choosing Snivy over Tepig would not benefit him much as a whole. While a Grass-type would certainly be interesting, and would help deal with Rock and Water-types, Snivy was also weak to Ice-types, therefore making the snake and Vibrava share a weakness; something Hugh was not too keen on having. And Snivy didn't offer much to complement Vibrava as much as Tepig did in terms of type synergy; Snivy benefitted more from such a partnership than Vibrava does, and Hugh preferred a more balanced synergy.

But Hugh couldn't help but eye the serperior under the command of his soon-to-be former teacher. Serperior was the final evolution of Snivy, and the fastest out of the three Unova starters. Boasting rather high defenses despite being very fast, Serperior was a rather tricky Pokémon to utilize in offense, due to its lackluster offensive prowess when compared to the versatile Samurott, or the heavy-hitting Emboar, usually relying on tactics such as Leech Seed or Swords Dance to aid in getting an advantage. Out of the three, Serperior is definitely the trickiest and most difficult to utilize efficiently due to its traits.

And yet his professor's ace partner was the serperior that easily restrained the thief that bested his unfezant. Hugh could tell that the serpent was Cheren's ace just by looking at it. Its mere presence was intimidating, something that the unfezant, while certainly powerful, didn't pull off. Having chosen the trickiest out of the three and yet still be able to go through what had been known as the 'Plasma Raid', one of Unova's darkest times, and have been an adversary of Unova's hero, Hilbert Warren showcased Cheren's skill and power as a veteran trainer. Hugh didn't need anything else to know that Serperior was an opponent he could not handle no matter what; at least in his current state. Its glare was enough to apply ample amount of pressure to the boy, even though it wasn't directed to him, and it wasn't even a glare at all.

Hugh eyed back to his two choices. Snivy looked at him curiously, while Tepig was more concerned with the unconscious Nate than Hugh.

"I choose Snivy," Hugh decided, getting the snake's attention.

"Really now," Cheren said with much interest in his tone.

"You didn't choose Snivy so you could get the advantage over Ottavia, did you?" Rosa asked him accusingly.

"Of course not," Hugh scoffed. "I just thought it would be interesting to train one."

Hugh cast a quick glance to Serperior, before kneeling down to Snivy.

"So what do you say? You wanna come with me?" Hugh asked Snivy.

Snivy looked up at Hugh with much interested, before nodding in response. Hugh smiled in response.

"Now you've got your Pokémon, so I'll give you this, too–a pokédex!" Bianca exclaimed, taking out two sleek black devices; one with pink designs, while the other with blue designs. "The pokédex is a high-tech device that automatically records the Pokémon you encounter! So Professor Juniper wants you to carry these pokédex, visit a lot of places, and meet all the Pokémon in the Unova region!"

She handed the pink one to Rosa, while handing the blue one to Hugh.

"Self-explanatory," Hugh muttered. "Alright then."

"Well for now, since all of this happened," Cheren said. "Class is dismissed. Rosa, Hugh, you two meet up with us tomorrow at eight. You two should tell your parents about this and get their permission. We'll explain the details of your journey afterwards."

"Yes sir," Rosa and Hugh said.

"Uh, Cheren?" Bianca asked. "What do we do with him?"

Bianca pointed to the still-unconscious Nate, while Tepig was staring at him worryingly.

"Why don't we just call the police on him now?" Rosa asked, more than eager to get rid of him.

"I have other plans for him," Cheren said. "Just trust me on this. Now then, class dismissed!"

As the students began to disperse, chatting among themselves about the events that had unfolded in front of them, Rosa and Hugh remained, while Serperior let go of Nate and released him into Cheren's arms.

"And..." Cheren grunted as he lifted Nate over his shoulders. "There we go. Thanks Serperior."

Serperior nodded in acknowledgment as Cheren recalled him.

"Let's take him to my apartment," Cheren said. "We can discuss things there."

"Okay then," Bianca said. "Oh, before I forget."

Bianca took out two pokéballs and tossed them to Rosa and Hugh, who caught them in their hands.

"Those are Oshawott's and Snivy's pokéballs," Bianca explained.

"Thank you," Rosa said.

"Now then," Cheren said. "Shall we go?"

"Right," Bianca said. "C'mon, Tepig, let's–."

As she turned to get Tepig, the pig was already besides Cheren; specifically the side that was carrying Nate, and was more focused on him. Bianca looked surprised, before giggling a little as she followed Cheren, who had left. Now, it was just Rosa and Hugh.

"I still don't get why we didn't just call the police on that lowlife," Rosa pouted.

"Professor Cheren had his reasons," Hugh said. "Now then, I'm going home."

"Wait what?!" Rosa blurted as Hugh began to leave as well. "Wait! Aren't we going to battle with our new partners?!"

"Tempting, but a lot happened today," Hugh responded. "I'd rather tell my parents about this and let Snivy and Vibrava relax. We'll battle when we get on our journey, alright?"

"Fine..." Rosa grumbled, disappointed that she couldn't see Ottavia's abilities. "I'm holding you on that though!"

"Whatever," Hugh chuckled. "C'mon, Rosa. Let's go."

As Hugh recalled Vibrava and Snivy and left, Rosa sighed in disappointment as she followed him, carrying Ottavia in her arms, while Eve was riding on her shoulder. She was hoping that boy, Nate or whatever, was dealt with by Professor Cheren. Surely he knew what to do with him.

* * *

Hours later and dusk was settling in. Hugh and Rosa had returned to their respective homes, intent on telling their parents about their upcoming journey.

"I'm home!" Rosa announced as she took her shoes off.

As she walked down into the living room of her house, a woman with brown hair tied up into a bun above her head was watching television when she heard her daughter come in.

"Welcome back, Rosa," she greeted her daughter. "So did it happen? Did you get your pokédex?"

"I sure did!" Rosa exclaimed with pride as she presented the black and pink device to her mother. "And I even got an oshawott too! Her name's Ottavia."

"That's great, honey!" Ms. Echoes congratulated her daughter, before eyeing Ottavia. "And ooh isn't she just the cutest little thing!"

Ottavia blushed at the compliment, while Eve puffed her cheeks a little.

"Oh don't worry Eve, you're just as cute too!" Ms. Echoes quickly complimented Eve as well, appeasing the Normal-type.

"So Mom, you do know that I'm going on my journey right?" Rosa asked her.

"Oh of course," Ms. Echoes said. "You got your pokédex, so this was inevitable. I even packed your stuff already."

"You did?"

Ms. Echoes went to the closet before taking out a large pink and white handbag with a black strap over it, and handing it to Rosa.

"It's filled with all the essentials," Ms. Echoes said. "Potions, Status ailments, some food and berries, and I even went the extra mile and supplied you with some Revives too!"

"Wow Mom! This is great!" Rosa exclaimed with joy as she accepted the bag. "This must've cost you a lot though."

"Oh please, I was the head nurse of this city's pokécenter, after all," Ms. Echoes scoffed. "They were more than happy to supply me with this."

"I'll be sure to repay you for this, Mom," Rosa assured her. "Just as soon as I become the Champion."

"Don't worry about it," Ms. Echoes said. "You just focus on enjoying your journey."

"I will Mom," Rosa said. "I still can't thank you enough!"

"Oh, and here's your Xtransceiver," Ms. Echoes said as she took out a rather high-tech pink device with a large screen on it. "I finished repairing it while you were at school."

"Thanks Mom!" Rosa said. "If you need me, I'll be in my room!"

Taking her bag and Xtransceiver, Rosa rushed up to her room. Her mother smiled as she left, happy that her daughter could finally start to achieve her dream.

* * *

Rosa entered her room; a rather small room with a bed, a desk, and a laptop, which was pausing a video. She placed her bag and Xtransciever on the desk as she let her Pokémon lay on the bed.

"Oh I'm gonna miss this small humble room," Rosa said. "Now then. Ottavia, make yourself at home, although we will be leaving tomorrow."

Ottavia looked around, as Eve began to roll around on the bed in comfort. Ottavia then noticed the laptop, and the video paused on it. Rosa noticed Ottavia looking at her laptop curiously, and checked to see what was on it. After noting the video on it, Rosa grinned.

"Oh, you're interested, eh?" Rosa asked. "Well then."

Rosa picked up Ottavia and Eve as she sat in front of the laptop with the two on her lap. She resumed the video, where it showed a battle, where a large sea lion-like Pokémon slammed a beige shell-like sword against a large blue dragon with a red head, pushing the dragon back.

" _Druddigon! We shall not give up! Outrage!"_ the dragon's trainer, an old man with outrageously large red hair commanded.

" _Samurott! Razor Shell into Megahorn!"_ the sea lion's trainer, a boy with brown hair and red hat commanded.

The dragon, Druddigon, charged at Samurott in a wild lariat, while Samurott brandished its sword and defended itself with it. Samurott then pushed Druddigon back with its sword, while the horn on its helmet grew and shot out like a spear, stabbing Druddigon at the head.

" _Now, Blizzard!"_

As Druddigon fell back, Samurott unleashed a harsh blizzard from its mouth, freezing the dragon whole. Samurott then took its sword and slammed it against the frozen dragon, sending it flying and knocking it out.

Ottavia watched the samurott with awe as it proceeded to fight a buffalo with a large afro. The samurott was amazing; he fought with great tenacity and bravado.

"You like?" Rosa asked Ottavia, noticing her obvious awe. "That is the hero of Unova, Hilbert Warren, and his partner, Samurott, arguably the strongest samurott in history. They are fighting the previous champion of Unova, Alder."

Rosa glanced at the video, as Samurott proceeded to finish off the buffalo, before being recalled in favor of a mole with metal claws as the buffalo was recalled for a large eagle-like Pokémon.

"You see, this is what a trainer should be like," Rosa said. "Not like that lowlife who was so condescending and arrogant. They should be noble and heroic as Hilbert. And I aim to become a trainer just like him; strong enough to become the new champion of Unova!"

"-So is this Hilbert person the current champion?-" Ottavia asked.

"-Nah, he left the position for some reason like two years ago, I think,-" Eve explained to her.

Ottavia glanced at the video. The person in it was so calm, serious, and strong. And the samurott was so strong; easily taking on two Pokémon owned by the 'champion', as Rosa explained it. Awe inspiring. Something that she wanted to become. Seeing the newfound determination in Ottavia, Rosa smiled.

"Tomorrow will be a good day," Rosa said. "Tomorrow will begin our journey to become the Champion! And the greatest trainer in Unova! Just like Hilbert!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Hugh had reached his own home, where he was greeted by his parents, who were setting the table for dinner.

"Oh, Hugh, welcome back," his mother said.

"Hi Mom, Dad," Hugh said.

"So you got your pokédex or whatever the thing was called?" his father asked.

Hugh displayed the black and blue device in response.

"That's good," his father said. "So you're gonna head out on your journey tomorrow?"

"That's the plan," Hugh responded.

"Oh, they grow up so fast," Hugh's mother said.

"Now, now," Hugh's father said. "C'mon, wash up and call your sister. Dinner's almost done."

Hugh nodded as he walked upstairs to a hall, where he entered into the first door to his left, which was his room. He set his bag down next to his bed, as he released Vibrava and Snivy.

"I'll bring your food later," Hugh told them. "For now, get comfortable."

Vibrava nodded as he rested on Hugh's bed, while Snivy looked around, curious about his surroundings. As Hugh left his room, he noticed that a small girl was waiting for him outside his room.

"Hey Brother," the girl greeted him.

"Hey Val," Hugh said, kneeling down to her height. "What's up?"

"How was your day at school?" Val asked.

"It was alright," Hugh said. "I got a pokédex, and even got a snivy. There was this weird kid who showed up though, you wouldn't believe it. He was so strong; being able to beat Professor Cheren in a Challenge Mode gym battle."

"Wow," Val said. "What happened to him?"

"Professor Cheren took him," Hugh explained. "I don't know why, but I'm sure he can handle the situation."

"…So, you're leaving tomorrow, I guess?" Val asked her brother with a rather sad tone.

"Yeah," Hugh said. "Don't worry though, I'll make sure to stay in touch."

"I know, just be careful," Val said. "And Brother. I know you already know, but take really, really good care of your Pokémon, okay?"

Hugh simply smiled as he rubbed his little sister's head.

"Of course I will," Hugh said. "Now c'mon, dinner's almost ready, so let's go eat."

Val nodded as she walked down the stairs. Hugh smiled at his sister, before the smile turned into a frown.

"Tomorrow's the day, huh," Hugh said to himself, before the frown barred his gritting teeth. "Team Plasma...I'll make them pay. No matter what."

* * *

"Ugh...huh...?"

Nate slowly opened his eyes in pain once again.

"What happened...? Ow my fudging head..." Nate grumbled.

"Finally you're awake."

Nate looked up to see Cheren, who was looming over him once again. Nate rubbed his head to soothe the pain, until remembering just what had caused said pain to begin with.

"Oh that's right," Nate said, before lunging at Cheren. "You little piece of shit! Think you're clever, eh?! Knocking me out like that! You're lucky I don't have my knives and Luca's still tired from out battle or else I swear to Arceus–!"

"Calm down," Cheren simply said as he pushed him back, making him land on the couch he had been resting on. "While I do admit knocking you out like that was a little, 'underhanded', it was my only option to make sure you didn't escape."

"Oh, I'm sure you could've come up with something else," Nate muttered. "So where the hell are we, anyways?"

"You're at my apartment," Cheren said.

"So you knocked me out and took me to your apartment," Nate said. "...This totally sounds like some kind of kidnapping/pedophilic scenario–."

"Don't even go there," Cheren said with disgust. "You're not even a 'child' anyways."

"I'm fourteen," Nate said.

"Still not a child," Cheren said.

"Whatever," Nate muttered. "So why am I here, anyways?"

"Like I said, we wish to get information from you," Cheren said. "And you're not leaving before you tell us everything you know."

Nate leered at the raven-haired man, before looking around. The door wasn't too far away from the couch. He could make a run for it; make a distraction somehow. But he could feel that he didn't have Luca's pokéball on him. They must've took it from him while he was out cold. And there was no way he would leave Luca here.

"Alright, first off, where the hell is Luca?" Nate demanded.

"Your lucario is fine," Cheren said. "Bianca insisted on...'washing' her, so they're in the bathroom."

"Well she is a chick, so I guess that's a good call," Nate muttered. "Okay second off, gimme back my knives."

"You have to be retarded to think that I would just give you back your weapons," Cheren said with an incredulous look.

"Hey just because I don't have an institutional education, doesn't make me mentally challenged," Nate growled. "And relax, I won't kill you, if that's what you're worried about. I just don't feel like talking without sharpening my knives."

Cheren narrowed his eyes at the boy. His expression was unwavering, showing no signs of hesitation or loss of calmness. Well he was willing to comply to a certain degree; might as well grant him his request.

Cheren reached into his pockets and removed two set of matching knives, which Nate quickly swiped from his grip.

"Oh that feels so much better," Nate sighed as he twirled them around his fingers to get a better feel, before putting them away. "So, Cowlick. What the hell do you want from me?"

Ignoring the rather irritating nickname, Cheren cleared his throat.

"First of all, do you have any idea why Hilbert and Hilda had disappeared?"

"Like I said back at the school, no. The last tiem I saw them was in fact two years ago."

"Fair enough. Second, why are you looking for them?"

"Someone asked me to find them."

"And who would that be?"

"Ain't telling. I don't snitch."

Cheren studied Nate's expression after he responded. Still no signs of faulting. Cheren decided to leave that issue be. Might as well try to get as much information as the boy was willing to share.

"We'll put that aside for now. How much of the region did you explore?" Cheren asked.

"All of it, except for this portion," Nate answered. "I keep making round trips to see what changes from time to time."

"So you would know what kind of species have been added since the past two years."

"Probably. I only helped with introducing a few of them. I dunno what Park decided to do afterwards."

"Did Professor Andrew Park provide you with the suit and weaponry?"

"Yep, the suit was his creation. Nanomachines or whatever he said. It repairs itself and maintains itself apparently. Gotta love science. Doing work that we pathetic humans are incapable of."

Cheren made a mental note about the sudden spike of malice in Nate's tone when he mentioned 'pathetic humans'.

"Did he provide you with your lucario?"

"Nope, I found Luca myself, when she was still a riolu."

"Where?"

"...No comment. It's...something I don't like to remember."

Cheren arched his eyebrow in curiosity. He would have to look into this later.

"Fair enough," Cheren said. "Why haven't you returned to your family?"

Nate leered at Cheren. Finally, a change in expression.

"They would've accepted you back without hesitation," Cheren said. "So why did you purposely avoid them? Even going as far as declaring that you aren't Hilbert's brother anymore, according to him?"

"...I have my reasons," Nate simply stated. "Reasons that you shouldn't prod at any further if you know what's good for you."

Cheren eyed Nate as he reached for his knife.

"Noted," Cheren said.

"So, is that all?" Nate asked.

"Close," Cheren said. "You see, while you were unconscious, I contacted Professor Juniper. After telling her of the current situation, she decided on an ultimatum."

Nate looked confused, before Cheren quickly tossed something at him. Nate caught it, and glanced to see that it was a pokédex; black with red patterns.

"...Don't tell me..." Nate muttered.

"Oh it's exactly what you're thinking," Cheren said. "Professor Juniper wants to enlist you on her pokédex campaign. And she wants you to supervise Rosa and Hugh's journeys. She wants you to help her complete the newly updated pokédex. You have traveled the entire region already. Why not have an expedition extraordinaire to help her do the job?"

"...You're kidding me, right?" Nate asked. "You're getting a random hobo who tried to steal from you to help a renowned professor with her continental project."

"It's either that, or I call the police and you go to jail," Cheren said without a bat of an eye.

Nate glared at Cheren. So either help them with their stupid project, or get sent behind bars. While either option wasn't too appealing, getting sent into juvie was definitely worse. Meanwhile, while having to be forced to participate in a project he couldn't care any less about, he could still travel the world. He also wouldn't be behind bars. Although with those conditions, it was more than likely that they were set to keep an eye on him, so that he didn't go rogue at some point.

"...Getting arrested isn't something I want to happen," Nate begrudgingly said. "So fine. I'll help you assholes with your stupid project. Under one condition."

"And that would be?" Cheren asked.

"This shit and you al don't get in my way of my business," Nate demanded. "If that doesn't happen, then I won't mind being one of your guinea pigs."

"...Very well," Cheren said. "I'll make sure Professor Juniper knows that."

"Then it looks like that's a deal," Nate said.

As Nate examined his new pokédex, something tackled him and landed on his chest.

"Gah!? What the–?!" Nate yelled, before realizing that the attacker was Tepig.

"-You're awake! That's great Boss!-" Tepig happily squealed.

"'Boss'?" Nate asked, slightly confused about the nickname, before glancing at Cheren for an explanation.

"That tepig was worried about you," Cheren explained. "It seems to have taken a liking to you."

"Really now," Nate said, before facing Tepig. "And what's your reason? I doubt I'm the best role model to look up to."

"-You and Lady Boss were so cool back there when you were fighting Cowlick!-" Tepig explained himself. "-I was amazed at that display! That was just spectacular!-"

"Thanks...I guess...?" Nate responded.

"-Please! I beg of you! You have to let me join your team!-" Tepig pleaded. "-I promise to do you good, Boss!-"

Nate was genuinely surprised at the pig's actions. He was genuinely surprised that someone would actually want to follow him, considering that the little tepig must have witnessed all of his actions since breaking into the school; which were less than admirable, to say the least.

"...And you're sure you want to come with me?" Nate asked in half-belief.

"-Yes Boss!-" Tepig declared proudly.

Nate looked a little unsure of it all, but hey. Who was he to deny a new member to a party? Especially if they were willing to join on their own accord rather than him having to go through the trouble of catching it.

"...Eh, what the hell," Nate said. "I could use another member anyways, since I only have Luca on me."

"-YES!-" Tepig yelled.

"Alright then," Nate said, noting the excitement in Tepig's squeal. "What to call you...let's call you 'Tep'."

"-Yes Boss! I shall be known as 'Tep' from now on!-" Tepig–no Tep saluted to his new trainer.

"Well at least 'til you evolve," Nate chuckled, before catching a pokéball from Cheren. "His pokéball I presume?"

"Yeah," Cheren said. "It should register you as his trainer now."

"Got it," Nate said as the pokéball registered Nate as its owner. "Alright, now where the hell's Luca?"

"-NAAAAAAAAAAATE!-"

Nate, Cheren and Tep jumped at the scream that came from the bathroom, where a drenched and soapy Luca burst out from it and tackled Nate.

"What the hell?!" Nate blurted.

"-Stop that blonde devil! Keep her away from me!-" Luca bawled as she hid behind him.

"Wait, I'm not done yet!" Bianca yelled as she ran out of the bathroom to chase Luca, completely drenched as well.

"What the hell are you doing?! You're scaring her!" Nate yelled, defending Luca. "Also, what the hell did you do to scare her!?"

"I was just washing her since she smelled," Bianca defended herself. "She started to freak out all of a sudden."

"-She tried to wash me...d-down there!-" Luca stammered.

"Huh...?" Nate asked, before giving it some thought and realizing what she was talking about. "Oooh. Oh–oh...I'm just gonna say this...Luca didn't like you invading her personal space."

Bianca looked clueless on what Nate meant, as Luca shuddered and continued to hide behind Nate.

"I'll tell you later," Cheren told Bianca. "And you have a change of clothes?"

"Huh?" Bianca asked.

Cheren glanced down at her, before turning away. Curious, Bianca followed the direction that Cheren had briefly glanced at, before seeing that her white shirt was drenched, and was revealing whatever was under it. Bianca quickly realized this, and covered her chest with her arms while blushing a brilliant shade of red.

"I'll lend you a shirt," Cheren said. "Just change out of that in the other room. There should be a spare shirt in there."

"Th-thanks," Bianca stuttered as she entered the room Cheren had mentioned.

"And you," Cheren said, facing Nate. "Since the ladies are done with the bath, you take one now."

"What? Why?" Nate asked.

"Because you stink," Cheren said bluntly. "I'll wash your tights too, so take a bath. They're safe to wash, right?"

"Fine, fine," Nate muttered as he headed for the bathroom. "Yeah you can wash them, pretty sure..."

As he entered the bathroom, his tights came flying out from it momentarily, hitting the table, followed by his shoes that hit the wall, before suddenly producing sharp blades out from the lower sides of them and stabbing the floor.

"What kind of shoes does he have...?" Cheren said as he collected the tights and carefully pried the shoes out of the floor. "I should have something for him to wear...I mean it's pretty cruel to make him go across the region in just these pair of tights."

"I'm done!" Bianca called out as she came out wearing a polo shirt, while carrying her original shirt in her arms. "Here you go."

"This shouldn't take too long," Cheren said as he accepted the shirt. "I'm pretty sure I can just wash these together."

As Cheren headed for the washing machine, he also grabbed a towel and tossed it to Luca.

"Dry yourself off with that," Cheren said as he left.

Luca caught the towel and began to dry herself off, as Tep waddled up to her.

"-Hm? Can I help you?-" Luca asked Tep.

"-Hiya, Lady Boss!-" Tep exclaimed. "-I'm Tep! I just joined the Boss's party!-"

"-'Lady Boss'...? Nate caught another Pokémon...?-" Luca asked as she wiped herself with the towel. "-Oh well, he must've had a good reason. The name's Luca. Nice to meet you.-"

"-Aye! I shall be under your care Lady Boss!-" Tep responded eagerly. "-I won't let you and the Boss down!-"

"-Well that's good to hear,-" Luca chuckled.

Bianca watched the two Pokémon converse and giggled to herself. Seeing Tep act so energetic and eager to his new trainer and friend was interesting as she remembered her own tepig, who was more shy and modest. Tep reminded her of a certain oshawott she had become an acquaintance of.

* * *

"Ah...this feels so nice..." Nate muttered as he unwound himself in the bathtub. "It's been ages since I had something like this...when was the last time I had a hot bath? When I was four? Somewhere around there, I guess..."

Nate let himself sink in the bathtub full of scalding water, as he looked up to the pearly white ceiling. The steam from the bath filled up the room, leaking out into an open window. As he enjoyed the hot bath, he began to contemplate on what had happened in the day, and what was to unfold now that he was (forcibly) included into this campaign around the region. While he was thankfully not sentenced to jail, he was now working (against his own free will) for Professor Juniper to complete her pokédex. Not too big of an issue, since Nate didn't accomplish anything here anyways, so he would have left regardless.

But now he had an extra errand to run in the form of the pokédex. No doubt Cowlick and Klutz would keep an eye on him, giving him less leniency than he would have wanted. They could even catch onto his true motives...

No. He needn't to worry about that possibility for now. They couldn't figure it out even if they tried. For now at least. It was less likely that they even know _him_.

For now, he'd play along with their stupid little game. It may even prove to be useful in terms of getting his own information and more valuables. As long as they didn't interfere with his own work, then there would be no problems.

Maybe...just maybe, he can even find him during this journey.

"...I guess he was right that there was some intel in this city after all..." Nate grinned a very malicious grin.

* * *

The night had passed, and soon enough, morning had reached the skies once again. Rosa adjusted her visor as she put on her shoes.

"Alright Mom, I'm going," Rosa said.

"Alright now," Ms. Echoes said. "Make sure you stay in touch! Make sure you call me when you reach the next town!"

"Mom, I'll be fine," Rosa assured her.

With that, Rosa left her house to rendezvous with her Professor and his friend to officially embark on her journey.

"Be careful out there!" Ms. Echoes called out.

"I will Mom! I love you!" Rosa called back as she left. "I'll make you proud!"

As Rosa headed on, she saw Hugh up ahead on the street, seemingly waiting for her.

"There you are," Hugh said. "So, you ready?"

"Of course I am, Hugh," Rosa scoffed. "I've been waiting for this for years."

Hugh snickered as Rosa ran up to her, before they headed for the school together.

"So how's your oshawott?" Hugh asked.

"Ottavia's doing fine," Rosa said. "And your snivy?"

"He's a quiet one, but I'm sure he'll start to open up eventually," Hugh said.

As the two made idle talk on their way, they eventually reached the school. In front of them was their now former professor, Cheren, and his friend and Professor Juniper's assistant, Bianca. But to their surprise, they saw one more person. His messy dark brown hair was now supported by a red tennis visor that sat on his head while covering his eyes and he was wearing a blue short-sleeved jacket and baggy beige shorts over his blue and black dri fit swimsuit-like tights. A white messenger bag was carried over his right shoulder, and he had a red Xtransceiver on his wrist. On his shoulder was Tepig, as they were checking out the pokédex.

"Wha–?! You!" Rosa yelled, pointing at the boy accusingly.

"Nate?" Hugh asked. "What's with the get up?"

"Apparently I need to wear actual clothing now," Nate muttered before glancing at Cheren.

"Oh come now, they look good on you," Bianca said.

"Professor Cheren! What is the meaning of this!?" Rosa demanded. "Why is he here!? I thought you said you would deal with him!"

"And I did," Cheren said. "He will be participating in the pokédex campaign as well and will be joining you two on your journey."

"WHAT?!" Rosa screamed.

"Tough luck, I know," Nate rolled his eyes.

"So I'm guessing that Tepig now belongs to you?" Hugh asked.

Nate nodded as Tepig raised his head high. Nodding, Cheren took out his Xtransceiver and dialed a number.

" _Hello?"_ the other line answered.

"Hello Professor Juniper," Cheren responded. "I have brought them."

" _Oh good!"_

Cheren faced his Xtransceiver to the three kids, where a woman with green eyes and light brown hair tied up into a swirled bun was on the screen.

" _Hi there, you three! I'm Professor Juniper!"_ the woman introduced herself. _"Cheren and Bianca told me you all accepted the pokédex! Thank you so much! Thanks to you, we will all know more about Pokémon and be able to get along with then even better!"_

"You're Professor Juniper?!" Rosa gasped.

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe you should've paid attention to the part where she said her damn name," Nate chided, earning a spiteful glare from Rosa.

"Moving on," Hugh said before Rosa could do anything. "Hello Professor Juniper. I am Hugh Matis, this is Rosa Echoes, and that's Nate Warren. Thank you for allowing us the pokédex."

" _I should be the one thanking all of you,"_ Professor Juniper said. _"With your support, the pokédex will be one step further to becoming complete."_

"Hi Professor Juniper!" Bianca called out. "It's really interesting over here! There're sooo many Pokémon we couldn't prove were here two years ago!"

" _Thank you for going so far for this errand, Bianca,"_ Professor Juniper said. _"And Cheren! I forgot to ask earlier, but how're you enjoying being a gym leader?"_

"The Gym Leader position is quite interesting to say the least," Cheren said. "As you already know, these three had already fought and bested me; Nate here even beating me with my usual partners."

" _Is that so,"_ Professor Juniper said. _"Nate, I would like to thank you personally for accepting the offer to help complete the pokédex."_

"Hmph, I didn't have that many options presented to me. And I'd rather not be in jail," Nate simply replied.

" _Well regardless, thank you,"_ Professor Juniper said.

"I'm sure that it'll be fine, Professor!" Bianca said. "Cheren's a new Gym Leader, I'm an Assistant Pokémon Professor, and these three are new trainers–well two new trainers and an experienced one, but we always have Pokémon by our sides!"

" _That's right, Bianca! Our world is a world where we live with Pokémon,"_ Professor Juniper said. _"Everyone! Keep that in mind as you pursue your dreams with your Pokémon!"_

"You don't have to tell me again, Professor," Rosa said. "I will become the next champion!"

Nate simply rolled his eyes.

" _Alright, here's some last minute advice,"_ Professor Juniper said. _"The pokédex may be important, but… First, enjoy your journey with your Pokémon to your heart's content!"_

"Will do Professor," Hugh responded.

" _Oh and Nate,"_ Professor Juniper said, getting his attention. _"Are you sure you don't want to at least talk to your mother? She's worried sick about you, you know."_

"...No," Nate simply grunted.

" _If you say so,"_ Professor Juniper sighed. _"Alright then. Take care now!"_

With that, Professor Juniper cut off the call, where Cheren was able to put his Xtransceiver down.

"Isn't Professor Juniper cool?" Bianca asked the three. "If you talk to her on the Xtransceiver, she'll evaluate the completeness of your Pokédex or tell you a lot about how Pokémon evolve! And you can call us, too, of course! I'll tell you how well you and your Pokémon are getting along, OK?"

"Bianca, they need your number if you want to do that," Cheren pointed out.

"Oh...right...ehehe..." Bianca replied nervously.

"Speaking of which," Cheren said. "You should all have my number on your Xtransceiver already. Nate I already have my number, Bianca's number and the professor's number registered onto your Xtransceiver."

"Wait, you gave him an Xtransceiver?" Rosa asked.

"Well he would need one, and he is poor after all," Cheren said. "Regardless. With this, you can communicate with me from your Xtransceiver. I'll tell you what I know about Pokémon Abilities and type match ups."

"Oh, I should register my number to you two as well," Bianca said to Rosa and Hugh.

Agreeing, the three of them exchanged numbers, Nate shuffled through his pockets to find that they were empty.

"I could've sworn I had a wallet in here..." Nate muttered. "Unless..."

Nate turned to Cheren, who only had an innocent smirk on his face.

"Hey the spare Xtransceiver cost a lot," Cheren said smugly.

"Oh you son of a bitch," Nate said. "Good move though. I'm starting to like you a lot more now."

"And before you leave," Cheren said, while taking out a badge and a disc. "Here. You did beat me in a gym battle, so here's the Basic Badge. This should by your first badge. And the TM is No. 86, Work Up. Hopefully this should prove useful."

Nate accepted the items and put them away in his bag.

"And done," Bianca said as she took out three discs. "And here's a present from me! TM 27! That contains Return. The more the Pokémon that knows it gets along with the trainer, the more powerful it becomes!"

The three accepted the discs and put them away in their bags.

"Great! Now we can start our adventure!" Rosa exclaimed.

"That's the plan," Hugh said.

"Then let's not waste any more time!" Rosa declared.

With that, Rosa rushed off ahead to the gate out of the city to the neighboring route.

"And there she goes," Hugh sighed as he followed him.

"Wow, they remind me of us, when we began our journey," Bianca giggled.

"They sure do," Cheren chuckled.

Nate simply glanced at the pokédex in his hand and let out a deep sigh.

"Let's go, Tep," Nate sighed. "Like we have any other choice in the matter, anyways."

"-Aye Boss!-" Tep responded.

With his new addition hoisted on his shoulder, the thief lazily followed after Rosa and Hugh, somewhat curious to see what this rather unwanted journey would hold for him.

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN:** And with that, their journey begins, whether they wanted them to happen or not, and all with different motives. Hope the battle wasn't too short, but then again, it was a one v one match, so it shouldn't have taken too long. Hopefully it was good though.

Now for character personalities, while Rosa is pretty self explanatory, you might have noticed that Hugh is significantly more calm than his canon counterpart. While he still does have his immense hatred for Team Plasma, I toned his overall anger down just a little and added a lot of deadpan snarker in him to balance out the rather haughty Rosa. Oh don't worry though. He still has an extreme amount of Plasma hatred in him. And then there's Nate, who, you can probably tell, is hiding a lot more and has a lot of agendas on his plate than he lets on. You can more or less piece together just what kind of person Nate is though.

And to keep track, here's a listing on the main trio's current teams. It'll keep getting updated with each chapter:

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Tep (Tepig)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Oshawott)

Hugh: Vibrava / Snivy

Hope you enjoyed this. Tell me what you think in the reviews, and see ya next time!


	3. 03: Aggression

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 3: Aggression**

* * *

 **AN:** Here's Chapter 3 folks! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Nate and Tep left Aspertia City and reached Route 19, the local route that neighbored Aspertia. The lush green that spread throughout the area with clear skies, large steeps and had crystal clear ponds. A gem of nature, if he had anything to say about it.

Up ahead, he saw his two (unwanted) companions. The bun-haired Rosa was currently battling a small, purple cat Pokémon, a purrloin if he recalled, with her oshawott.

"Now, Ottavia! Tackle!" Rosa commanded.

Ottavia looked slightly hesitant, before charging at the purrloin, dodging its attack and tackling the cat and knocking it out.

"Yes!" Rosa cheered. "Nice job, Ottavia!"

Ottavia smiled shyly at the praise. Meanwhile the blue-haired Hugh was battling a small chipmunk-like Pokémon, a patrat if he recalled, with his snivy, avoiding a bite from the patrat.

"Snivy, Leer!" Hugh commanded. "Then follow it up with Vine Whip!"

Snivy leered at the patrat, unnerving it and keeping it from moving, as two vines emerged from Snivy's collar and whipped the patrat with them, knocking it out as well.

"Good work, Snivy," Hugh praised the snake, in which Snivy nodded in acknowledgment.

"Huh...they're pretty decent," Nate muttered to himself, observing their battling. "Well I guess that's to be expected since they were chosen to complete the dex."

Nate then noticed the girl's eevee watching her master's battle on her shoulder. What did she call it again? Eve? A rather simple nickname, although he wasn't one to talk. 'Luca' and 'Tep' weren't exactly creative works of art either. And he also Hugh's Vibrava, spectating besides the boy. He couldn't judge their skills just yet. They were only commanding young Pokémon. Ones that have little to no battle experience what-so-ever. While that would've made little difference, these two already own Pokémon, and are experienced in some way. He needed to see them battle with their first Pokémon; see their skills to the fullest, to determine their true potential.

Nate glanced to the side to see another patrat, seemingly glaring at Tep. Tep returned the glare with his own.

"-Whadda ya want?-" Tep growled, trying to be as intimidating as possible.

"-You think you're so tough?-" the patrat asked. "-Let's fight.-"

Tep glanced at Nate, his expression begging him to let him fight the patrat to prove his dominance.

"Well now," Nate said, intrigued. "I suppose you could use some training. Alright, Tep, you're up!"

"-Alright! I won't let you down, Boss!-" Tep exclaimed as he jumped off his shoulder and got back from the patrat.

As Tep got ready, Nate quickly scanned the patrat in front of him.

"Patrat, the scout Pokémon," it read. "Extremely cautious, one of them will always be on the lookout, but it won't notice a foe coming from behind."

"I'm gonna have to do this a lot, huh," Nate muttered, before scanning Tep.

"Tepig, the fire pig Pokémon," it read. "It loves to eat roasted berries, but sometimes it gets too excited and burns them to a crisp."

Nate quickly scrolled through the data to find Tep's personal data.

"Naughty Nature...Likes to thrash about...Ability is Blaze...and only knows Tackle and Tail Whip," Nate read through the provided data. "Sounds about right. Well let's kick this off. Tep, Tackle!"

Tep wasted no time to execute the given command, as he charged at the patrat at a surprisingly fast speed, smashing into it and sending it flying. Patrat landed back on its feet, before lunging in for a bite.

"Dodge, and use Tail Whip!" Nate ordered.

As Patrat lunged for Tep, Tep twirled around where he was standing, making Patrat slide beside it, while rubbing his tail along the patrat, lowering its defenses.

"Alright, now go in for a pursuit with Tackle!"

As Patrat fell back from missing, Tep lunged at the chipmunk and smashed into it once more, sending him back a further distance much faster, sending it into a lake. The patrat floated back up, knocked out and unable to fight anymore.

"Not bad," Nate said.

"-That'll show you to never mess with the Boss!-" Tep roared.

"Nice job, Tep," Nate praised the pig. "Pretty impressive display for a newbie."

"-Hehe! I aim to please, Boss!-" Tep responded.

"That was pretty good," Hugh complimented.

Nate glanced at Rosa and Hugh, who had watched Tep's display.

"Well, that was to be expected from you," Rosa huffed. "Anything less would've been somewhat betraying considering your display back at Aspertia."

"Whatever," Nate muttered.

As Nate went ahead, Rosa glanced at Hugh as he tended to his Snivy.

"So, Hugh," Rosa said. "You do remember what you said about our battle, right?"

Hugh glanced back at her, figuring out what she wanted.

"We are on our journeys, now, so let's battle!" Rosa challenged. "Snivy against my Ottavia!"

"Although I get that you want to fight me with Ottavia," Hugh said. "You sure you should be challenging a Grass-type with a Water-type? Especially with Snivy learning Vine Whip?"

"It doesn't matter!" Rosa scoffed. "We will battle with our new partners!"

Nate glanced at the arguing duo, before glancing at the 'new partners' that would participate in their battle should they go through with it. While Rosa was insisting that they battle, with Hugh trying to reason with her to at least train her oshawott more before pitting it against an opponent who clearly has the type advantage, Ottavia, the oshawott in question, wasn't too sure of the whole thing, staring at the ground more than at her opponent, while Snivy didn't seem to mind too much.

Nate rolled his eyes. The odds that this would work out for the girl were slim. If she was so proficient, then she would have realized that.

"If you two are done fighting," Nate said, getting their attention. "Then let's get moving. We should at least get to the next town before sundown."

"What!? Who're you to boss us around?!" Rosa yelled.

"He does have a point though," Hugh chimed, noticing the sky beginning to darken. "We should at least reach the next city before dusk hits."

"Grr...Fine..." Rosa groaned, agitated that Hugh took Nate's side.

"You can fight him when we get to the next town," Nate said. "C'mon let's go–."

"BROTHER!"

"Oh goddamn it, what now?!" Nate growled.

The trio turned around to see a small girl carrying what appears to be two maps, being escorted by Bianca and Cheren.

"What the–Val?" Hugh blurted.

"You know her?" Nate asked him.

"That's his little sister," Rosa explained.

Nate's eyes widened slightly as Hugh approached his sister.

"What're you doing here?" Hugh asked in a somewhat scolding tone. "You know better than not to go out into the wild without a Pokémon."

"Sorry," Val mumbled. "But I forgot to give you this and you left already..."

Hugh looked curious, as Val handed him one of the maps.

"A Town Map..." Hugh muttered, before checking his belongings to find that he didn't have one on him. "So I must've forgot it."

Hugh smiled as he rubbed his sister's head rather affectionately.

"Sorry for making you bring it," Hugh said.

"It's no problem..." Val mumbled shyly. "I also have one for Rosa too."

Rosa looked a bit surprised, before walking over as Val handed her the other map.

"You didn't have to prepare one for me too," Rosa said.

"It's fine," Val said. "We had a spare one, anyways."

"Well, thank you regardless," Rosa smiled as she accepted it.

As Rosa put away her map, Val noticed Nate, before looking away.

"? Something the problem?" Nate asked, making his tone less intimidating.

"Sorry...but I don't have one for you..." Val mumbled. "We only had two..."

"Ah? Oh it's alright," Nate waved it off. "I already memorized the geography of Unova anyways. I don't need a map."

"I-Is that so?" Val asked, somewhat surprised. "You remember the entire Unova region?"

"Yep," Nate said. "Thanks for trying to be nice though."

"-Yeah, you should accept the Boss's gratitude!-" Tep exclaimed.

"Not now, Tep," Nate muttered.

"I don't believe you," Rosa said accusingly. "There's no way you could have remembered the ENTIRE Unova region."

"Try me," Nate challenged with a cocky grin.

"Is that so," Rosa said. "...What route are we on?"

"Route 19," Nate said matter-of-factly.

"What's the next town?"

"Floccesy Town."

"Where's the next gym?"

"At Virbank City, the next city after Floccesy after you go through Route 20."

"What's the mountain on East Unova?"

"Reversal Mountain."

"What's the town closest to it?"

"Lentimas Town. And Undella."

"The route that you go through from Oeplucid City to get to Victory Road?"

"Route 10, and it's closed down due to a huge landslide destroying the route."

Rosa leered at the boy as he wore a very smug grin on his face.

"Go on. I can keep doing this all day," Nate challenged.

As Rosa and Nate were having their little 'dispute', Hugh faced Cheren and Bianca, before bowing to them.

"Thank you for escorting Val to us," Hugh said.

"It was no problem," Bianca assured him. "I was about to leave, until your sister came along and asked if I could take her to you guys, since she figured that you guys were still in Route 19."

"To be this young, and yet so responsible," Cheren mused. "It really warms my heart to know that the future generation will be like this. If only you were that much responsible back on our journey, Bianca."

"Wha–?! I was totally responsible!" Bianca pouted.

"If I wasn't with you during our journey, you would've forgotten your Trainer Card back at the pokécenter back at Driftveil," Cheren commented.

"Well you're the one who keeps on training until all of your Pokémon collapsed from exhaustion!" Bianca argued. "You needed to give them more rest! Hilbert knew that too!"

"Hilbert had more problems on his plate than we could ever handle," Cheren shot back. "I doubt training to exhaustion was on his mind at the time."

As the two began to bicker, Val went up to Hugh.

"Brother? I recognize Professor Cheren, but who is this lady, anyways?" Val asked.

"Oh that's Bianca," Hugh explained. "She's Professor Cheren's childhood friend and is the assistant to Professor Juniper who gave us the pokédex. She also went on a journey with Professor Cheren."

"Uh huh..." Val said as she examined the two. "Are they dating?"

Their bickering had stopped the moment she asked that, before turning their attention to the little girl.

"HUH!?" they both blurted, both blushing furiously.

"What makes you say that?" Hugh asked Val.

"Well I mean they're bickering like a couple," Val said. "Plus, they seem to care for each other a lot if their arguments mean anything."

Both veterans stared at her for a good minute, before turning away from one another, still blushing.

"Well I mean, Cheren was always into training a lot..." Bianca murmured, twirling a strand of her hair with her finger. "And he never knew when to stop, so I had to always get him to take a break and yeah..."

"Bianca was a handful to take care of, and she always kept going on ahead," Cheren muttered as he cleared his throat constantly. "So I had to look out for her whenever she did something reckless or absurd..."

"So are you two dating?" Val asked, flustering them even more.

"I think you should stop there," Hugh said.

"R-Regardless!" Cheren cleared his throat, signaling that the conversation was over. "The map should prove useful to you three. Unova is a vast region after all."

"Yeah you two have fun with your maps," Nate said. "Less crap to carry for me. Now then, if there aren't any more interruptions, let's get going to–."

"HEY! OVER THERE!"

"OH GODDAMN IT!" Nate yelled, frustrated that he was interrupted, before turning to the direction of the voice. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?!"

They all turned to the direction of the new voice, high up a steep cliff looming over the route. On top of said cliff, was a man with long flaming red hair tied back in a spiky ponytail, tan skin, and dark eye and wearing tan cloak-like vestments with a black collar, red and orange trim on the sleeves, and orange and black trim across the middle.

"Well aren't you the energetic one," the man mused.

* * *

"Alder?!" Cheren gasped.

"What? Alder? You mean as in the former Champion!?" Rosa gasped.

Alder had a smile on his face as he jumped off the cliff, plummeting to the ground before landing on his feet, seemingly unfazed.

"Damn, tough grandpa," Nate muttered, impressed that the man had withstood the fall.

As Alder walked up to the group, Rosa froze up somewhat, while Nate leered at the old man. The man looked around, before noticing Cheren and Bianca.

"Huh? Well if it isn't you two!" Alder boomed. "It certainly has been a while! Cheren and Bianca, if I recall correctly?"

"Y-Yes, it has been, Alder," Cheren answered.

"I've heard you've become a gym leader!" Alder said to Cheren. "That's great! So? How's the position treating you?"

"It's good," Cheren replied. "It's a great experience, and I'm teaching young trainers."

"Good, good to hear," Alder smiled. "And you Bianca. How have you been doing?"

"I-I've been doing good, thank you Mr. Alder," Bianca replied. "I've been working as Professor Juniper's research assistant. I've also provided three new trainers with the latest pokédex and the set of the Unova starters."

Alder raised an eyebrow as he looked to the trio.

"Oh? And you three must be the new trainers," Alder said.

"H-H-H-Hello A-A-Alder! I'm R-Rosa Echoes!" Rosa stuttered, nervous in front of the former champion of Unova. "It-It's an honor to meet you!"

"Easy there, girl," Alder chuckled. "Relax. It's nothing to be nervous about. You're talking to an old coot after all."

"And I'm Hugh Matis," Hugh greeted himself. "It's a pleasure to meet you. With all due respect though, you are the former champion after all. My friend has her rights to be nervous."

"I supposed you have a point," Alder said. "Although you seem to be relaxed despite being in the same position as your friend."

"One of us has to stay calm," Hugh shrugged, earning a laugh from the old man.

Alder then faced Nate, who looked the other way. Alder squinted his eyes at the boy, before widening them after recognizing him.

"Why, aren't you Nate Warren?" Alder asked. "Hilbert's little brother and Fiona's younger son?"

"Damn it, he remembered..." Nate muttered, before glancing at the man.

"Wait you know him!?" Rosa yelled in shock.

"He visited my family once..." Nate muttered. "And I did run into him...kind of...once before...he knows Hilbert after all..."

"Why, you've grown into a fine young man!" Alder laughed. "It seemed like only yesterday, when you were still a small young boy."

"Well y'know, trees grow, grass is green, and people do tend to grow after ten or something years," Nate muttered.

"Although, if I recall correctly, your brother said that you had a lucario and a braviary on you," Alder said.

"Y'mean Luca?" Nate asked as he released the golden canine.

Luca materialized in front of Nate, before taking note of Alder and backing away into a fighting stance.

"Relax, he's not an enemy," Nate quickly dismissed Luca's caution, causing the canine to relax somewhat.

"Ah yes, the shiny lucario!" Alder said as he examined her. "A fine Pokémon you have here. It's clear that you've taken care and trained your lucario very exceptionally. Very good!"

Luca still eyed the man suspiciously and cautiously, clinging onto Nate's arm.

"Uh, Alder, if I may ask," Cheren interrupted. "What are you doing here, anyways?"

"Oh I was out taking a little walk," Alder said. "And then I happened to see you all."

"A walk? Up to a cliff?" Bianca asked.

"It was enthralling," Alder said.

"And why bother with us?" Hugh asked.

"Good question!" Alder said. "You see, one of my goals is to tell people about how wonderful it is to walk toward the future together with Pokémon. While I recognized Cheren, Bianca and young Nate, you two caught my eyes as trainers with potential."

"Really?!" Rosa gasped.

"Indeed," Alder said as he eyed Ottavia and Snivy. "Your Pokémon look very fine. They seem to trust you despite being new Pokémon, according to Bianca."

"Th-thank you Alder," Rosa said. "If you would like, please take a look at my other Pokémon."

"Mine's too," Hugh decided to join in.

They both released their respective partners, as Eve and Vibrava materialized in front of them.

"Oh," Alder mused as he examined the new ones. "An eevee and a vibrava, eh? Very rare Pokémon. And they look exceptionally well."

Eve and Vibrava looked at Alder curiously as he faced their trainers.

"You two seem to be more than capable than newer trainers," Alder said. "Although not a much experience as your Pokémon would let on."

"Huh?" Rosa and Hugh asked.

"Indeed! I'll train you a little!" Alder announced.

"REALLY!?" Rosa practically screamed.

"Calm the hell down, damn it," Nate growled.

"But _the_ former champion is telling us that he'll train us!" Rosa argued with Nate. "How _can_ I calm down!?"

"Simple. You don't lose your shit, like a normal person," Nate shot back.

"Why you–!" Rosa growled at the thief.

"Quit it," Hugh sighed.

"Energetic, I see," Alder simply chuckled. "Come now, my home is just up ahead at Floccesy Town. You don't mind if I take them from here?"

Alder turned to Cheren and Bianca.

"They're all yours," Cheren said. "Hugh. We'll escort your sister back to your home."

"Thank you," Hugh said.

"Oh and before I forget," Bianca said, taking out three chips and handed them to the trio. "Install these into your Xtransceivers."

"Huh?" Rosa asked as they accepted the chips. "What are these?"

"These chips are the C-Gears," Bianca explained. "They collect data from your Pokémon and your dreams. It also allows you access to the Entralink."

"The Entralink?" Hugh asked.

"It's a mystical place, found at the heart of Unova," Cheren explained. "It serves as a boundary that connects dreams and reality. We had the C-Gear in our journeys and they helped out in the end. Perhaps they can help out in yours."

Nate said nothing, before inserting the chip into a slot in the Xtransceiver, installing the device.

"You're not gonna question it?" Rosa asked Nate. "This chip could more than likely track you, you know."

"They can already do that without this, probably," Nate replied. "Besides, this may actually prove to be useful."

"Alright, have fun!" Bianca called out as the two left with Hugh's sister.

"Well then, let's go," Alder said as he walked ahead, leading the trio.

"Well at least we're making progress..." Nate groaned as he followed the old man. "Why the hell do I have to do this though...?"

"We're in the presence of the former champion!" Rosa shot back. "Why aren't you more excited? Also show some respect!"

Nate simply rolled his eyes as the trio followed the old man.

* * *

In a short amount of time, the group reached Floccesy Town, a small town with a rather calm and rural feel to it. The group made a quick stop at the pokécenter to heal their Pokémon before heading to Alder's home. It was a rather large house compared to the other houses, where two school kids were having a mock battle in front of the house.

"Pansage, Vine Whip!" the boy commanded, as his green monkey shot a vine at the opposing blue monkey.

"Panpour, dodge and use Water Gun!" the girl commanded, where her monkey dodge the incoming attack and shot a stream of water at the pansage, who took the brunt of the attack with little difficulty.

"Oh, looks like things are lively here," Alder commented.

The two young trainers noticed the old man, and stopped their battle.

"Mr. Alder!" the two exclaimed as the two and their monkeys rushed up to the man.

"Hey! Pretty good battle you two were having there, Seymour, Cassie," Alder complimented. "You two are improving."

"Thank you Mr. Alder," the boy, Seymour, said.

"Uh...Mr. Alder?" the girl, Cassie, asked, noticing the three. "Who are these three?"

"Oh these are some young trainers that caught my eye," Alder explained. "I offered to train them a little."

Alder turned to the trio.

"I'd like you three to lend a hand with your Pokémon," Alder said. "Try sparring with these two."

"Huh?" Rosa asked. "What would that accomplish?"

"I'm sure fighting more experienced trainers such as you three will prove to be a great experience for these two," Alder said. "Plus, I'm sure your new Pokémon would like their first experience against a trainer."

"I suppose," Rosa said, somewhat disappointed that she couldn't have a spar against the former champion himself.

"This will also make for a good experience for you two as well," Alder said to the two kids. "These trainers may be tough, but you can learn from losing as well. More importantly, haven't I been telling you just to enjoy Pokémon battles?"

"Well I suppose," Seymour said.

"We'll accept!" Cassie replied.

"Excellent!" Alder exclaimed. "So? Out of the three of you, who would like to battle?"

"These two," Nate volunteered Rosa and Hugh.

"What?!" the two blurted.

"Who made you the boss?!" Rosa demanded.

"Oh so you would pass up the opportunity to show these two young trainers your skills, oh 'future champion of Unova'?" Nate amusingly asked. "Surely you would make a _fine_ example of a proper trainer."

Rosa was about to say something, but what the thief said tempted her. This was a good chance to show off her 'superior' skills to two trainers who were obviously rookies. It would also be a great chance to impress the former champion who would no doubt spectate the battle.

"W-Well I suppose it can't be helped then," Rosa muttered.

"Well I guess Snivy could use the practice," Hugh said. "Alright, we're in."

"Good!" Alder exclaimed. "Then let's begin!"

"Ottavia!"

"Snivy!"

Rosa and Hugh released their respective starters, as Ottavia and Snivy both materialized in front of their respective trainers.

"-W-What's going on...?-" Ottavia asked, looking around until she spotted the two monkeys in front of her.

"Ottavia! This is gonna be your first trainer battle!" Rosa called out. "Let's win this!"

"-A-A trainer battle...!?-" Ottavia gasped.

"Don't fret and calm down," Rosa said, noticing Ottavia's panic. "We can do this."

"-...A-Alright, I'll give it my all,-" Ottavia said, gaining some reassurance as she faced her opponents.

"Looks like Snivy managed to calm Ottavia down," Hugh commented.

"A great trainer always know what to do to get their Pokémon in the fighting spirit," Rosa scoffed. "Now, let's begin!"

"Pansage, Vine Whip on the oshawott!" Seymour commanded, not wasting anytime.

Pansage extended a vine and lunged at Ottavia, who frantically jumped back.

"Looks like you have that handled," Hugh said. "We'll focus on the panpour."

"Got it," Rosa said. "Ottavia, Tackle!"

Ottavia landed away from Pansage and lunged for the green monkey, tackling it with a good amount of strength, sending the monkey back.

"Pansage!" Seymour cried.

Pansage landed in front of Seymour, before growling and getting back up. Meanwhile, Panpour was shooting Water Gun at Snivy to no avail, as the snake was simply too fast for the monkey.

"Vine Whip!"

Two vines emerged from Snivy's collar as the snake charged for Panpour.

"Stop it with Water Gun!" Cassie quickly commanded.

Panpour tried to shoot Snivy down with Water Gun, but Snivy evaded the attacks swiftly, before slamming the vine at Panpour's torso, sending the monkey back.

"Are you alright, Panpour?" Cassie asked in concern.

Panpour got back up, refusing to be defeated and glared at Snivy, who only kept his calm expression.

"These two are tough..." Cassie commented, as Pansage at tackled once more by Ottavia. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Seymour said after confirming that his pansage was still able to fight. "These two are really strong..."

"Show no mercy, Ottavia! Continue with the assault!" Rosa ordered.

"-What does 'assault' mean?-" Ottavia muttered. "-I guess she wants me to keep attacking, I guess...?-"

Shrugging, Ottavia lunged for Pansage once more. Meanwhile, Nate was simply spectating the battle in front of him, yawning silently.

"Well I'm bored..." Nate muttered. "Damn it, should've actually participated in this one. This battle is so straightforward that it's boring..."

As Nate sighed and began to tinker with his pokédex, he picked up on something, taking a slight sniff.

"What the...?" Nate muttered, before sniffing once more. "This scent...it smells familiar..."

Nate followed the apparent trail of scent to see an opening besides Alder's home. He glanced back at the battle. Rosa and Hugh were busy with their battle and obviously were occupied. Alder was distracted with overseeing the battle. Seeing this as an opportunity, Nate quietly snuck around the battle and past Alder without anyone noticing, before silently entering the opening besides the man's house. The opening lead to a small collection of trees that obscured Nate's vision. However, Nate was able to find the path he wanted to follow by following the scent he had picked up beforehand. Going past the several trees that blocked his way, he ventured through the small woods, before entering a larger opening, and hearing a sound akin to a sword slashing through an object.

"What the hell...?" Nate muttered, before taking another whiff.

He wandered into the opening, going through a rather zigzagged path of trees, before stumbling across a clearing, with an abnormally large stone with three slashes engraved into it. Several smaller slashes were littered across the stone, with the perpetrator, a quadruped, blue colt-like Pokémon with a cream-colored body. It had a large, feathery red mane, long dark blue ridged eyebrow-like protrusions and a single cream-colored horn that curved slightly. The most noticeable trait was the huge scar that ran across the colt's right eye.

* * *

"Well, well," Nate said out loud, getting the colt's attention. "No wonder that scent smelled familiar."

"-...What the...?-" the colt muttered, before recognizing the boy. "-Wait! You're that human from the castle!-"

"The same one who helped you survive getting killed by your 'master'," Nate said. "It's been a while, 'Unicorn'. How's life going for ya?"

"-I told you, don't call me 'Unicorn',-" the colt growled in annoyance. "-I have a name.-"

"Yeah, yeah, 'Keldeo'," Nate muttered.

"-How the hell did you find me here, anyways?-" Keldeo asked.

"Living in the wild for several years of abandoned childhood has its perks," Nate replied. "One of them include a sense of smell that far exceeds a normal human's smell."

Keldeo simply grunted in irritation as he carefully examined Nate.

"-So...what do you want?-" Keldeo asked.

"Can't a friend just drop by and say 'hi'?" Nate asked, only receiving a deadpan stare from the colt. "Oh fine. I just happened to catch your scent while I was watching a vanilla battle."

"-Uh huh...-" Keldeo muttered as he continued examining him. "-...Didn't knew you even had clothing like those.-"

"Huh?" Nate asked, before taking note to his clothing. "Oh I got these from my...'employers', so to say."

"-So you were domesticated by 'humans'?-" Keldeo asked with some amusement in his tone. "-Didn't think you would let yourself get into such a fate. It's pretty amusing.-"

"Bite me," Nate grumbled. "It's not like I wanted this to happen. I just ran into some 'complications'. Let's just say a heist went horribly wrong."

Keldeo simply laughed at Nate's misfortune, making the thief grumble in irritation.

"So? What the hell're you doing?" Nate asked, noting the giant stone.

"-I was practicing my swordsmanship,-" Keldeo commented, stopping his laughter. "-Also was trying to remember I forgot long ago...-"

Nate eyed the stone, noting the three slash marks engraved into it.

"And the stone?" Nate asked.

"-This stone is sacred to me,-" Keldeo said. "-The engraved marks are the swings of the swords of my masters. I was hoping that I could remember it by examining the stone.-"

"And?"

Keldeo examined the stone with empty eyes. The memories of his masters training him here, and marking the stone as proof of their bond were nostalgic as they were clear as day.

And yet, he couldn't remember that move he so desperately wanted to recall.

"-...No luck,-" Keldeo muttered. "-Maybe if I can find Masters, then I can remember it.-"

"Oh and speaking of those bastards," Nate said, earning a murderous glare from the already intimidating colt. "Hey they tried to kill me. Don't judge. Anyways, how was your search for them. Last time I saw you, you ran after that shitty priest as he made his getaway."

"-He got away,-" Keldeo grumbled. "-And I couldn't find where those ninjas went.-"

"Y'know for a cute little pony, you sure brood like an emo," Nate commented, before the 'pony' point his horn at Nate's neck.

"-Call me 'pony' again, I dare you,-" Keldeo snarled.

"Kidding, kidding," Nate groaned, holding his hands up in resignation. "Beside the point. So I'm gonna guess they're still in Plasma's possession?"

Keldeo simply nodded in response.

"-I'll find them,-" Keldeo said. "-I'll free them. And I will take Plasma down. Even if I have to slaughter every single one of them.-"

"...Beautiful..." Nate muttered sarcastically. "...Since you've must've been going around Plasma-hunting, any signs of them?"

"-Oh hell yeah...-" Keldeo growled, peaking Nate's attention.

"Wait, so they're actually back?" Nate asked.

"-On my way back, I saw some of them in Route 20,-" Keldeo explained. "-I assaulted them, but they got away, retreating to that ranch.-"

"And you're sure those were Plasmas?" Nate asked. "Even if your hatred is easily triggered by them, you are a bit biased against humans."

"-While I distrust all humans in general,-" Keldeo admitted. "-There's no mistaking them. They were definitely Team Plasma.-"

"...Alright then," Nate said, taking Keldeo's word as truth. "Wait why're you telling me this then? I am a 'human' you know."

"-You already helped me out in the past,-" Keldeo said. "-And although I hate to admit it, I'm grateful for that. At the very least, you can be trusted.-"

"Well now. I'm actually touched by that," Nate said.

"-But if you get in my way, don't expect any mercy,-" Keldeo quickly said.

"...Duly noted," Nate muttered. "Now then. I should take my leave–."

"-Wait,-" Keldeo said. "-You still have those two on you?-"

"Huh?" Nate asked. "Well I still have Luca. Brav went back to the wild. Couldn't overwork the old coot. He deserves some rest man."

"-So you still have the jackal?-" Keldeo asked.

Nate responded by releasing Luca, letting the shiny jackal land in front of him.

"-What's wrong, Nate?-" Luca asked, before noticing Keldeo. "-You...!-"

"-You, jackal,-" Keldeo growled. "-Fight me.-"

Luca looked somewhat flabbergasted, while Nate had a rather incredulous look.

"...Interesting," Nate commented. "Explain your reasoning."

"-I simply wish to fight her,-" Keldeo said. "-What's wrong with a simple competition?-"

"I see," Nate said. "Your call Luca."

"-I don't mind a good fight,-" Luca said, prepping a Bone Rush staff.

"And there you have it," Nate said as he released Tep.

"-Huh? What's going on, Boss?-" Tep asked Nate, before noting Luca and Keldeo. "-Why's the Lady Boss facing a blue pony?-"

"-I'm not a pony!-" Keldeo growled.

"Pay attention Tep," Nate said, ignoring Keldeo's outburst. "You're about to see two highly skilled Fighting-types beat the shit out of each other."

* * *

"Now! One last Tackle!" Rosa yelled.

As Pansage tried to whip Ottavia one again, Ottavia grabbed the whip and yanked it, pulling Pansage forward and making the monkey lose his balance, before proceeding to tackle him one more time before falling.

"No, Pansage!" Seymour cried.

"Victory!" Rosa cheered. "Great work, Ottavia. Nice first debut!"

"-Th-thanks,-" Ottavia said timidly.

"How could I lose when I had the type matchup...?" Seymour muttered.

Meanwhile, Snivy had had enough fun toying with Panpour and finished the monkey off with a vine whip.

"Panpour!" Cassie gasped.

"Nice job, Snivy," Hugh complimented as he knelt down to pet the snake.

Snivy looked up to Hugh and grinned approvingly.

"That was truly a rousing battle!" Alder exclaimed. "I could tell that all of the Pokémon were enjoying themselves as well!"

The schoolkids looked up to Alder as they healed their Pokémon, while Rosa and Hugh simply recalled theirs, since they didn't take too much damage.

"How about it, you two," Alder asked the kids. "Pokémon types are very important in battle, aren't they? Water is strong against Fire...Fire is strong against Grass...Grass is strong against Water..."

"Yes indeed, Mr. Alder," Seymour said. "They're really important to consider during battle."

"Indeed," Alder said. "Type matchups don't decide everything, though!"

"Like STAB?" Rosa interjected.

"'STAB'?" Cassie asked.

"'Same-Type Attack Bonus'," Rosa explained. "Basically when your Pokémon uses an attack with the same type as their own, such as your panpour using Water Gun, then Water Gun would get a boost in power."

"Wow, I didn't know," Cassie said in awe.

"It's a fundamental in battling," Rosa said. "It's always important to always have a move that corresponds with your Pokémon's type. It'll serve as your main weapon, per say."

"You learn something new every day," Rosa smiled.

"Well you two, I hoped you learned a lot from this battle," Alder said.

"Uh huh!" Cassie smiled.

"Yes, this proved to be a valuable experience!" Seymour responded.

"And I have to thank you two for lending a hand," Alder faced Rosa and Hugh. "I apologize if you were looking forward to having a match with me, since I said that I would 'train you a little'."

"N-No, it's quite alright!" Rosa quickly stammered. "Anything to help out someone like you, Mr. Alder."

"But still," Alder said as he eyed Ottavia's pokéball. "An oshawott, eh? Ah I remember a samurott who bested me in combat."

"You mean Hilbert Warren's samurott, right?" Rosa asked.

"Oh yes, indeed," Alder said. "A ferocious battler those two were."

"Yes they are!" Rosa exclaimed enthusiastically. "Hilbert Warren is the greatest! Quite possibly the best trainer in the world!"

"Oh, it looks like we have a fan of his," Alder chuckled.

"Yes! He inspired me to become the future champion!" Rosa was quick to explain. "I even chose Ottavia because I wanted a samurott like him."

"Well now, it would seem that Hilbert has influenced quite the young trainer," Alder said. "And one full of potential."

Rosa was ecstatic. A champion had complimented her! It was like a dream come true.

"Uh, Mr. Alder," Rosa said, getting over her ecstasy. "If it's alright, do you know who the new champion is?"

"The new champion?" Alder asked. "Why if I recall, it was–."

"Hey, where's Nate?" Hugh interjected.

They all looked at Hugh, before looking around. True enough, the blue trainer was missing.

"Where did he go?" Rosa asked. "He was here during the battle...right?"

As they all looked around, an explosion rang through the field, getting their attention.

"What was that?!" Seymour gasped.

They all looked towards the source of the explosion, where several more began to resonate soon after.

"Ten bucks says that's where he is," Hugh said.

"What is that lowlife doing?" Rosa groaned.

The two trainers headed for the direction of the sound, passing besides Alder's home.

"You two stay here," Alder said as he followed.

"Mr. Alder!" the two kids cried out.

* * *

The three went through the small woods, following the sound of what now appeared to be a fight, as they ventured into the woods.

"What is this place?" Rosa asked.

"This is the path to Pledge Grove," Alder explained. "Where the Swords of Justice were rumored to train here."

"What's Nate doing at a place like this?" Hugh asked.

As they ventured deeper into the trail, a voice could now be audible, albeit faintly.

"Aura Sphere!"

"Aura Sphere...?" Rosa asked. "Definitely that lucario of his."

The trio finally reached to their destination, and to their surprise, reached a clearing with an abnormally large stone. In front of it was Nate, commanding Luca, who was fighting against a blue colt-like Pokémon, while Tep was watching from besides Nate in awe.

"Keldeo!?" Alder gasped.

"Wait, you mean Keldeo? As in _the_ mythical Pokémon and the rumored fourth member of the Swords of Justice?" Rosa asked. "THAT Keldeo?!"

"Yep, that's the one," Hugh muttered.

Keldeo's horn had grown into a large shining sword, as he exchanged clashes against Luca and her Bone Rush staff. The two were evenly matched, although Luca's staff was beginning to break from the force of Keldeo's sword.

"Push him back and go for a pursuit!" Nate yelled.

Luca did as she was told and managed to push Keldeo back, but at the cost of her staff breaking, before rushing at the colt with her paws charged with aura.

"-Damn it bitch!-" Keldeo snarled before disappearing.

"-Wha–?!-" Luca gasped as she stopped.

Keldeo reappeared behind her, where Luca was suddenly slashed apart.

"-AAAGH!?-" Luca gagged.

"-Lady Boss!-" Tep cried.

"Tch, Aerial Ace..." Nate muttered, before taking out his pokédex and scanning Keldeo.

"Keldeo, the colt Pokémon," it read. "When it is resolute, its body fills with power and it becomes swifter. Its jumps are then too fast to follow."

"'Resolute'?" Nate muttered. "The hell does that mean?"

"-What's the matter Thief!?-" Keldeo taunted. "-Surely you and the bitch are better than that!-"

"-Why you!-" Luca growled.

"Calm down," Nate ordered. "He's obviously taunting you so that you'll slip up. You can still take him."

"-You think so?!-" Keldeo yelled as he released a gust of chilled air at Luca.

"-Kh...!-" Luca muttered as she defended herself.

"Tch...Extreme Speed!" Nate yelled.

Luca managed to withstand the gust and charge at Keldeo at a blinding speed. Keldeo saw Luca charging at him and crashed at him, sending both of them back.

"You alright there, Luca?" Nate asked.

"-I've had better days...-" Luca muttered.

"But still..." Hugh muttered. "How did Nate come across such a rare Pokémon...?"

"I guess the rumors of Pledge Grove being the home to the Swords of Justice were true," Alder mused.

Rosa meanwhile, was more engrossed with the battle, trying to study all of their movements.

"He's keeping up with such a strong Pokémon..." Rosa muttered.

As the two Fighting-types collided once more, Luca's staff broke from the impact. With no weapon to take on Keldeo's sword, Luca jumped back and charge an aura sphere in her paws with all of her power.

"-EAT THIS!-" Luca roared as she launched it at Keldeo.

The orb bulleted towards Keldeo, who sliced it in half. As Keldeo sliced it, Luca prepped another Bone Rush staff and bulleted towards Keldeo.

"-SHIT!-" Keldeo swore as he aimed his front hooves at Luca and shot boiling water at her.

Luca ended up getting hit by the boiling water, but powered through and brought her staff at Keldeo, who met it with his sword once again, now locking themselves into a stalemate.

"-...Woah...-" Tep finally said.

"...This is our loss," Nate declared.

* * *

Everyone sans Alder was shocked as they looked at him incredulously. The former champion, however, seemed to agree with the boy.

"What? But no one's down yet," Rosa commented.

"-Yeah Boss! Lady Boss is still up!-" Tep argued with Nate.

"Not for long," Nate replied, confusing everyone sans Alder. "Take a closer look."

All eyes turned to Luca, who held her position, but upon closer examination, she was panting heavily, as if fighting back a wincing pain. Her arms were revealed to have been burned, as she was struggling to keep up her position, much less keep her grip on her staff.

"-Wha...? What's wrong with the Lady Boss?-" Tep asked.

"She's burned," Nate answered. "Must've been from Keldeo's 'Scald'."

"-Huh?-" Tep asked.

"You're a Fire-type, so you don't have to worry about it," Nate explained. "But when a Pokémon gets burned, their attack gets cut in half, and they'll take passive damage as time passes on."

Luca was visibly wincing at the pain brought by her status condition, as she found it harder and harder to keep up her position. Keldeo, on the other hand was just staring at her, waiting for her to break her position and succumb to the pain of the burn.

"Bone Rush and Extreme Speed won't be as effective now since their power is cut in half," Nate said. "And her only other options, Aura Sphere and Dark Pulse, won't be enough to take on Keldeo; the former Keldeo's now able to deal with effectively, while the latter will only benefit Keldeo."

"Benefit how?" Hugh asked.

"Keldeo's Ability is more than likely 'Justified'," Nate explained. "If he gets hit by a Dark-type move, then he'll get an attack boost."

"-But surely Lady Boss can handle it, right?-" Tep asked.

"Unfortunately, if she continues this fight without healing the burn, she's going to lose," Nate said. "She can't even hold her staff without struggling in pain. Keldeo on the other hand was able to match Luca's fighting prowess, holds the type matchup, and hasn't even broken a sweat yet."

To prove his point, Luca finally succumbed to the burn's pain and dropped down, letting go of her staff and holding her arm in pain. Keldeo simply looked down upon the jackal, daring her to make another move.

"As much as I hate to admit it, we forfeit this match," Nate informed Keldeo. "This match goes to you."

"-...Very well,-" Keldeo said as his sword reverted back to his horn.

Nate went over to Luca as she tried to nurse her burned arm.

"You did well, Luca," Nate comforted his partner. "Take a rest."

Luca had a look of anguish on her face as Nate recalled her back to her pokéball.

"Wait, you're just gonna give up like that?!" Rosa yelled.

"What point is there to continue a battle I know I'm going to lose?" Nate asked. "Luca's in no position to continue the battle, and Tep sure can't take down Keldeo."

"-Then allow me to prove you wrong and battle Keldeo!-" Tep yelled.

"Can you really?" Nate asked the fire pig.

Tep stared adamantly at Nate, before glancing to Keldeo and freezing. The vicious pressure that Keldeo was giving off was tremendous; it was crushing the small fire pig as he just stood there. The colt was frighteningly intimidating than he had noticed. Tep felt like he would be demolished at any second.

"Do you still think you can win?" Nate asked, snapping Tep out of his stupor. "Know your limits. I'm not belittling you, but you're way over your head if you think you can win this. Understand?"

Tep looked up to his trainer, before slowly nodding.

"If you're not gonna fight it, then I will!" Rosa suddenly yelled as she barged through.

"Rosa, wait!" Hugh yelled as he tried to stop her.

"Oh?" Nate asked. "You think you can take on Keldeo?"

"It's a mythical Pokémon!" Rosa yelled as she released Eve. "I'm not gonna let this chance slip by, unlike you!"

Nate scoffed, but interfered with Hugh trying to stop her.

"What're you–!?" Hugh yelled.

"Eve, use Take Down!"

Eve charged at Keldeo and rammed into the colt, but Keldeo didn't even budge nor flinch.

"I-It had no effect?!" Rosa gasped.

"-What do you think you're doing?-" Keldeo snarled at Eve, making the fox cower. "-GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!-"

Keldeo kicked Eve hard, sending her crashing into Rosa, sending her back as well until Nate caught her.

"Eh–?" Rosa blurted, surprised that he actually caught her.

"You still think you can handle him?" Nate taunted.

Rosa gritted her teeth in annoyance at Nate's mockery, but yet again, he had a point. Keldeo was much too strong for her to handle, no matter how much she wanted the rare mythical Pokémon. As Keldeo, irritated that the little creature would dare take him on, was about to pursue the eevee, Alder quickly released a giant moth-like Pokémon that blocked Keldeo and screeched into his face.

"-Tch!-" Keldeo muttered as he backed off, recognizing the threat at hand.

"Volcarona..." Nate muttered.

"While a good competition is great," Alder said. "I won't let you harm the children."

Keldeo eyed Volcarona, noting that the atlas moth is most likely much stronger and threatening than Luca, even if it was a Fire-type.

"-Tch, I'll heed for now,-" Keldeo muttered. "-Nate!-"

Nate looked up to the colt addressing him.

"-Remember this,-" Keldeo said. "-Team Plasma is still alive. And I intend to eradicate them. I don't care if I owe you, if you get in my way...-"

Keldeo's sword suddenly formed and pointed at his neck.

"-I will show no mercy,-" Keldeo made himself clear.

"...Duly noted," Nate said without flinching.

Seemingly satisfied that his warning had gone through, Keldeo leaped over the stone and disappeared into the woods.

"...What an encounter," Alder gaped. "To think we would run into Keldeo..."

"Yeah..." Rosa said, before realizing that Nate was still holding her. "L-Let go of me!"

Rosa began to flail around demanding that Nate let her go. The boy obliged by simply dropping her to the ground.

"OW!" Rosa yelped, before getting up and glared at him.

"You said to let you go," Nate said innocently.

Rosa grumbled under her breath as she got up and checked up on Eve.

"Are you alright Eve?" Rosa asked Eve, who groaned in response. "I'm sorry for making you go through that."

"Y'know, you could've prevented that if you hadn't tried to take Keldeo on," Nate said, earning him a glare from Rosa. "Just saying."

"You still should've at least tried to win," Rosa grumbled. "How could you just admit defeat and let such a rare Pokémon go!?"

"Because we would've lost if we continued that fight," Nate shot back. "What don't you get? Luca was burned, so physical attacks weren't an option, Luca's movements were restricted because of the burn, and Keldeo was more than capable of fending off aura spheres and closing in for a strike. And there's no way Tep can fight Keldeo. How do you expect me to win in that scenario?"

Rosa was at a loss of words, before trying to find a way to argue it, but Nate's logic stopped all attempts.

"Besides, I have a feeling we'll run into him again," Nate said.

"Huh? Why?" Rosa asked.

"Nate, what did Keldeo say to you?" Alder asked.

"...Team Plasma's back," Nate told them.

"WHAT?!" they all gasped.

"Impossible!" Rosa yelled. "Team Plasma was disbanded two years ago! They can't have possibly return!"

"Ghetsis was never caught though, was he?" Nate pointed out.

"So you think Team Plasma has finally resurfaced?" Alder asked.

"The colt has no reason to lie," Nate said.

Hugh suddenly barged through and grabbed Nate by the collar.

"So is it true then?" Hugh practically demanded.

"Hugh!" Rosa cried.

Nate didn't flinch, examining the boy's expression. It bared more animalistic rage than shock. The way Hugh 'asked' him about the accuracy of Keldeo's information was more of a snarl if anything. As if he was more than eager to hunt down said Plasmas as much as Keldeo was.

"...We'll just have to wait and see," Nate replied calmly. "We'll run into them eventually if he's right."

Hugh glared at Nate, before releasing him and heading back.

"What's his problem?" Nate asked Rosa.

"Let's just say...he hates Team Plasma," Rosa simply put it.

Nate glanced at Rosa, before glancing back at the retreating Hugh.

"For now, let's head back," Alder suggested. "It's almost dusk."

They all looked up to see that the sun was almost done setting. They shouldn't be out in the dark for too long.

"...Fine," Nate said.

* * *

The group had returned to Alder's place, where they saw the two schoolkids waiting for them with worried expressions on their faces, along with Hugh, who was leaning against the fence with a brooding expression.

"No worries, we're fine," Alder assured the kids. "Now, you two should head back home. It's getting very late."

"Of course," Seymour said.

"Have a goodnight, Mr. Alder!" Cassie exclaimed as the two kids headed back.

"As for you three," Alder addressed the trio. "How about you stay at my place for the night."

"Are you sure?" Rosa asked.

"No worries!" Alder chuckled. "There's plenty of room. Plus, it's getting dark."

"Alright then," Nate said.

As they headed into Alder's house, Nate was stopped by Hugh, who grabbed his shoulder.

"What?" Nate asked the boy.

"Look..." Hugh muttered. "Sorry for what I did back at the woods...it's just..."

"Ah, forget about it," Nate waved his hand dismissingly. "It's not the worst interrogation I had in my life."

"I see..." Hugh said as he let go of Nate.

"...So I heard you hated Team Plasma, eh?" Nate asked, alerting Hugh's attention. "Rosa told me the very basic. I dunno what they did to you to piss you off, but I'm not gonna prod at it until it ends up threatening my business."

"And your business is...?" Hugh asked.

"None of your concerns, that's about it," Nate said offhandedly. "And besides, I can't say that I totally disagree with you on hating Team Plasma."

Hugh looked confused as Nate glanced back at the blue-haired boy.

"We both have a bone to pick with them," Nate told him. "I dunno whose bone is bigger, but we both have a bone to pick."

"And what's your reason?" Hugh asked Nate.

"I'll tell you whenever you tell me your reason," Nate simply said as he headed into the house.

Hugh looked slightly confused, before shaking his head and following Nate in, deciding to drop the subject for now.

* * *

After a rather hearty meal made by Alder, the old man showed the trio to their rooms before calling in for the night. Soon enough, the three trainers decided to call in for the night as well, and fell into their beds; Rosa on her own side, while Nate and Hugh were on the other side. There were only two beds though, where Rosa took one, while Nate and Hugh tried to figure out who takes the second bed. Well mostly Hugh.

"You take it, I'll just sleep on the floor," Nate said.

"Are you sure?" Hugh asked.

"I've slept on worse things," Nate dismissed the boy before stripping off his clothing until he was just in his swimsuit, grabbed a spare blanket and promptly fell to sleep.

"If you say so..." Hugh shook his head as he took the second bed.

As the moon rose hours later, and the trio fell deep into slumber, a cold mist leaked through the windows, chilling the room a little. Nate, however, felt the chill, and instantly recognized it. The boy quietly got up and glanced through the window, to find two large, blue hexagonal snowflakes. Nate pointed up to the roof, where the snowflakes seemed to acknowledge the motion, and float up to the roof. Checking to see that the other two were asleep, Nate opened the window as quietly as possible, and snuck out, grabbing the ledge of the roof and climbing up onto the roof.

"So...what's up?" Nate asked casually to the two cryogonals that were waiting for him.

"-You haven't reported in,-" the one on the right said. "-Master sent us to check on you.-"

"Yeah I would guess," Nate rolled his eyes.

"-So? What is your progress?-" the one on the left asked. "-Have you located what Master has asked you to find, Courier?-"

"Nope, not yet," Nate muttered. "You'd think you'd know the response by now, seeing as how I wasn't able to find it for three years now."

"-We still ask in case you do manage to obtain them,-" the one on the right retorted. "-Plus, Master is counting on you to find them. You still owe him.-"

"Yeah, yeah I know," Nate muttered. "Give it some time. What the Boss is asking for is, _very_ rare to say the least."

"-You had the chance to obtain one of them two years ago,-" the one on the left pointed out. "-And yet you let it escape your grasp.-"

"The situation didn't call for it," Nate muttered. "If I had stolen it there, then I wouldn't have been able to escape."

"-You are lucky that Master is patient,-" the one on the right said. "-But patience is not eternal. Master will lose his patience eventually. And when he does...-"

"I know, I know," Nate muttered. "I'd rather not piss him off either. I'm definitely sure Luca can't take him on."

"-At least you know when to kneel,-" the one on the left muttered. "-What is your current condition?-"

"As ironic as I'm sure the Boss will find it once you report it back to him," Nate started. "But it looks like I've finally been caught. And domesticated for a bunch of researchers to help complete their glorified encyclopedia on Pokémon in exchange that I don't get thrown into prison."

"-You? Got caught? By humans of all things?-" the one on the right asked, amused. "-Ironic, truly.-"

"-Master would enjoy hearing this,-" the one on the left cackled.

"Shaddup," Nate grumbled. "I don't need overgrown snowflakes to laugh at me. And besides, I'm not done yet."

"-Oh?-" the one on the right inquired.

"An 'associate' of mine informed me that Team Plasma has resurfaced after two years of disbanding," Nate explained. "I'm not sure if it's true, but he has no reason to lie. So I'm pretty sure Team Plasma is back."

"-And pray tell, why inform us of this?-" the one on the left asked. "-Surely a petty terrorist group has no correlations with Master.-"

"That's not it," Nate hissed. "If Team Plasma is truly back, then chances are that _those two_ will reappear as well."

"-...I see...-" the one on the right said. "-You intend on waiting, letting Team Plasma run around until it gets their attention.-"

"Yep," Nate said.

"-But what are the odds that they'll just ignore it in favor of keeping their lives, not to mention one of the 'targets' safe?-" the one on the left asked.

"Trust me, they'll show up," Nate said. "It's like venomoths to a flame. They'll show up, just to destroy Team Plasma once and for all. All while carrying what Boss wants."

"-...Very well...-" the one on the right said. "-We'll leave this to your judgment.-"

"Oh and tell the Boss that he won't have to constantly send you two just to check up on me," Nate said. "I have a nifty tool that should make these 'progress reports' a lot easier."

"-Is that so?-" the one on the left mused. "-Well then, it looks like your domestication isn't all that bad.-"

"Just tell him to meet me at the Entralink in three days," Nate said, ignoring that last comment. "-Preferably in the forest.-"

"-Very well,-" the one on the right confirmed. "-We shall relay the message to Master. You continue your quest to find and secure the targets.-"

"Understood," Nate said casually.

Acknowledging Nate's confirmation, the two cryogonals floated away, where Nate quietly snuck back into the room, and gently closed the window while making sure that they were still asleep. Relieved that they were still in their slumber, Nate quietly slipped into his blanket and dozed off.

If what Keldeo had said was true, then Team Plasma is back. They would go around Unova doing whatever it is that they're planning, and cause another uproar in the region. It would attract quite the attention. Enough attention to attract them and bring them back into the playing field.

That's what he was hoping for–no, it would happen. They can't resist the chance to destroy the syndicate they despise so much. And when they do make an appearance, then everything would be set.

Then, he'd take what he had set his eyes on.

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN:** And there you have it! For those of you familiar with the prequel to this, then you should be well aware of Keldeo. If not, then I'm going to put it simply as our favorite water pony didn't have the best time back then. That giant scar across his eye says a lot on its own. Don't worry though, this won't be the last time we see him.

And some of Nate's motives are revealed. Let's see if you guys can guess what they are simply by the conversation he had with the cryogonals.

And to keep track, here's a listing on the main trio's current teams. It'll keep getting updated with each chapter:

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Tep (Tepig)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Oshawott)

Hugh: Vibrava / Snivy

Hope you enjoyed this. Tell me what you think in the reviews, and see ya next time!


	4. 04: From Ranch to Virbank

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 4: From Ranch to Virbank**

* * *

 **AN:** This chapter's shorter in comparison to the other chapters, but hopefully you'll still enjoy it.

* * *

Dawn has risen, and the chilled air and the sunlight of morning leaked through the window. The light hit Rosa's closed eyes, irritating her.

"Ugh...Morning already?" Rosa murmured as she got up from her bed.

She got out of her bed and stretched her arms, letting out a yawn. She looked around, seeing that Hugh was still snoozing in his bed, but Nate was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go?" Rosa asked herself.

As she got out of her bed, she heard clashing sounds coming from outside. She peered from the window, and to her shock, she found the missing boy who was sparring with Luca with nothing but his knives.

"What's the matter!?" Nate taunted as he slammed his knife at Luca's staff. "Move faster!"

Luca pushed Nate back and swiped her staff at the boy, but he ducked under it as his shoe produced several sharp blades and swiped it at Luca's foot, who jumped away from it. Luca then lunged at Nate and slammed the staff at him, but he moved to the side to avoid it while lunging at Luca with his own strike. Luca intercepted the blade with her paw spike, bouncing the knife and Nate back, before rushing towards the boy. Luca lunged the staff at Nate's head, but stopped at the last minute, as Nate had his blade up at Luca's neck.

"Not bad," Nate commented as he put away his knives. "Alright that's enough for today."

Luca smiled as her staff dissipated into energy.

"You fight with Luca?" Rosa asked from her view, getting the marauder's attention.

"More of a practice fight," Nate responded. "I mean practice makes perfect, and it never hurts to practice."

"Is that so," Rosa commented as Nate recalled Luca.

The girl could've sworn that the lucario had glared at her momentarily before getting recalled.

"I'll be downstairs eating whatever it is the old man's cooking," Nate dismissed as he headed back to the house. "Wake up spikehead and get downstairs if you want your share."

Rosa giggled a little at Nate's title for Hugh, before heading back into the room and waking up said boy.

"Huh? What?" Hugh groaned.

"It's morning," Rosa said. "C'mon, let's go eat."

Hugh grumbled in sleepy annoyance as he got up from his bed, following Rosa down to the living room. There, Nate and Alder were already at the table, eating what appears to be bacon, eggs and toast.

"Bout time you two showed up," Nate muttered through chewed eggs.

"Good morning you two," Alder greeted the two.

The two took empty seats next to the two, feasting on the plates of food presented to them.

"So how was the night, you three?" Alder asked.

"It was fine," Hugh responded as he chewed on a piece of toast.

"It was alright, Mr. Alder," Rosa said.

"So, where the hell do you two plan to go next?" Nate asked.

"The next gym, of course," Rosa said. "So we head to Virbank City next."

"Ah, that's not too far from here," Alder said. "Just go through Route 20. If I may, I suggest you visit the Floccesy Ranch."

"Floccesy Ranch?" Nate asked. "Why go to that place?"

"It's a rather peaceful and quirky place," Alder said. "It couldn't hurt to drop by."

"Whatever..." Nate muttered.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to do so," Hugh said.

"I guess..." Rosa said.

Nate scarfed down the rest of his food, before getting up from the table.

"Welp, I'm done here," Nate said as he grabbed his plate and placed it in the sink. "You two finish your meals. I'll be outside if you need me. Thanks for the meal, Alder."

With that, Nate left the room, and out of the house, leaving his two companions with the old man.

"How rude," Rosa huffed. "I'm sorry about that, Mr. Alder."

"Haha! No worries!" Alder chuckled. "I'm sure he didn't mean to be rude."

"If you say so," Rosa said as she finished her meal. "Thank you for the meal, Mr. Alder."

"Thanks," Hugh said as he finished his meal.

"Any time!" Alder said. "Now you three be careful out there."

The two bowed to him out of respect, before leaving the house, meeting up with Nate who was waiting for them outside.

"You done?" Nate asked.

"Y'know, you could've been a bit more polite," Rosa said. "He did give you free food."

"I thanked him," Nate replied. "I'm sure that's good enough."

Rosa simply sighed at Nate's bluntness as he stretched his arms out.

"So we're heading to the ranch?" Nate asked.

"I mean it couldn't hurt," Hugh said.

Nate shrugged his shoulders as he released Tep.

"Alright, Tep, rise and shine," Nate said.

"-Morning, Boss!-" Tep saluted his trainer.

Rosa and Hugh did the same with Ottavia and Eve, and Snivy and Vibrava respectively.

"-Morning Rosa!-" Eve barked at Rosa.

"-M-Morning,-" Ottavia mumbled.

"-Good morning,-" Vibrava said.

Snivy simply yawned while nodding to Hugh.

"-How come you never talk?-" Vibrava asked his Grass-type companion.

Snivy simply shrugged before climbing onto Hugh's shoulder.

* * *

After bidding farewell to Alder, the trio headed through the neighboring Route 20, before shortly finding the ranch that Alder had mentioned. The sign that was adorned to the entrance read 'Floccesy Ranch'.

The Floccesy Ranch was, for a lack of better words, average. It looked like any other typical ranch you would find in any country, sporting a variety of colorful Pokémon such as mareeps and lillipups. Albeit, to its credit, there are some rather rare Pokémon you wouldn't find in a normal ranch, such as riolu.

"So, why did Alder tell us to go here?" Nate asked.

"Scenery, atmosphere, I guess?" Hugh asked.

"Well whatever," Rosa said. "Now then."

Rosa instantly pointed to Hugh.

"You!" Rosa yelled. "We still need to fight!"

Hugh just groaned in response, while Nate simply raised an eyebrow.

"Y'know I'd figured you wouldn't mind fighting your friend," Nate commented to Hugh.

"He just doesn't want to fight me because he knows I'll win," Rosa scoffed.

"It's either I win, and she complains for an hour, or I lose, and she'll gloat about it for an hour," Hugh whispered to Nate. "Don't get me wrong, she's my best friend. She can just be annoying when it comes to battling."

So she essentially has an ego that's way bigger than herself. Ugh, those kind of people. On a more serious note, team wise, Spikehead holds a major advantage over Bunhead; his snivy holding the type advantage over her oshawott, and unless Eve has Hidden Power Ice, then she'll struggle against Vibrava.

But then again, he had never seen them fight with their main partners–well, he saw Rosa technically fight Keldeo with Eve, but that was outright pitiful and he shouldn't judge her by that kind of performance; no he wasn't _that_ cruel. Maybe.

Either way, a fairer match would better determine how 'skilled' Rosa claims to be.

"Duly noted," Nate said, before glancing at Rosa. "Although...this would be a good time to see just how 'skilled' you claim to be as a trainer..."

"Verily," Rosa said with gusto. "I'll show you!"

"-Yeah, let's!-" Eve barked enthusiastically.

"Fine," Hugh muttered as Vibrava got ready. "Get ready, Vibrava."

Vibrava nodded in response, as Eve raced up in front of Rosa.

"Alright, Eve, Take Down!" Rosa commanded.

"Counter with Dragon Breath!" Hugh ordered.

Eve charged at Vibrava, who spewed a fiery breath at Eve. Eve jumped over it and lunged for Vibrava, connecting the attack and crashing into the dragonfly.

"Tch, push her back with Dragon Breath!"

Vibrava blasted a Dragon Breath at Eve, blasting her back, as Vibrava regained his footing.

"Now, Bulldoze!" Hugh yelled.

Vibrava slammed his tail into the ground, shaking the earth as Eve landed on it, and making her lose her balance.

"Shadow Ball!" Rosa commanded.

"Dragon Breath!"

Eve got up quickly and charged a shadowy orb before shooting it at Vibrava. Vibrava in response, shot down the shadowy projectile with a Dragon Breath, effectively shooting it down.

"Tch, Take Down, once more!"

"Bulldoze, then Rock Tomb!"

Eve charged at Vibrava, who shook the ground once more, prompting the fox to jump off the ground to evade it. Vibrava then summoned several boulders and shot them at Eve as she was airborne, pelting her with the boulders and sending her back.

"Are you alright, Eve?" Rosa called out.

Eve looked back at Rosa and nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"Our speed's dropped significantly low..." Rosa muttered. "Hyper Voice!"

Eve let out a horribly echoing shout, blasting Vibrava, and everyone in the premises with said horribly echoing shout.

"Now! Take Down!"

While Vibrava was weathering through the Hyper Voice, Eve took the opening, stopped her attack, and charged at Vibrava.

"Crap–!"

Vibrava was too distracted with trying to withstand the Hyper Voice, he didn't notice Eve crashing into him and sending him to the ground. Vibrava was knocked out from said Take Down, unable to continue.

* * *

"Damn it!" Hugh muttered.

"Yes!" Rosa cheered, pumping her fist in the air. "Nice job, Eve!"

"-Yay!-" Eve barked.

Hugh sighed as he kneeled down to Vibrava, taking out a yellow crystal and crushing it in his hand, letting the yellow dust fall into his mouth and reviving him.

"You alright, Vibrava?" Hugh asked.

"-Ugh...yeah...-" Vibrava groaned.

As Eve jumped into Rosa's embrace, Nate walked up to them, having observed the whole battle.

"So? What do you think? Impressive, wasn't it?" Rosa asked haughtily.

"Uh huh..." Nate muttered with one eyebrow curved up in a skeptical look. "Well...you're both amateurs."

"What?!" Rosa and Hugh yelled.

"You're even more of an amateur than him," Nate commented to Rosa.

"WHAT?!" Rosa shrieked. "EXPLAIN NOW!"

"Well, seeing both of you fight with your main partners," Nate decided to elaborate. "They were both pretty low-leveled."

Nate faced Rosa.

"You simply kept attacking without even assessing your opponent's strength," Nate said. "When physical attacks didn't work, you instantly switched to special attacks. Simplistic and basic that it's easily exploitable. You may not have done so since you were fighting your friend, so you probably knew how he fights, but against anyone else with a decent level of competency, that would've been exploitable, and they wouldn't hesitate to do so. You don't even bother to predict your opponent and act accordingly."

As Rosa looked agape, Nate faced Hugh.

"While you had a good strategy in pressuring the eevee with long-range attacks and even baiting the eevee to jump with Bulldoze so you could shoot it down with Rock Tomb," Nate commented. "Your vibrava did poorly with close quarters. Although I haven't seen the last move on your vibrava, Vibrava had little means to deal with close-range attacks like Take Down when you failed to avoid it."

"I see," Hugh muttered. "Well then, how do you propose we improve on it?"

Nate sent out Luca as he set Tep down from his shoulder and to the ground, all while instructing the little fire pig to observe what he was going to demonstrate carefully.

"Alright," Nate glanced to Hugh. "Try to hit Luca."

"Huh? Alright," Hugh said. "Vibrava, Bulldoze!"

Vibrava slammed his tail into the ground, shaking the earth once more. Luca simply jumped off the ground, avoiding the attack and lunging for the dragonfly while preparing a Bone Rush.

"Now, Rock Tomb!"

Vibrava summoned several boulders and shot them at the airborne Luca. Luca, in response, twirled around and shifted her position, avoiding the boulders completely and landing in front of Vibrava and striking him, stopping just as the staff was about to make contact with Vibrava's head.

"Luca was able to avoid all of the Rock Tombs and would be in a perfect scenario to strike Vibrava down, 'Levitate' be damned," Nate said.

Hugh just nodded dumbly, as Vibrava could only stare at the staff that was literal inches away from smashing into his face.

"Now, what's your last move?" Nate asked.

"Steel Wing," Hugh answered.

"Hmm...Not bad for a physical move...makes good use of Vibrava's physique," Nate commented. "Now, let's repeat the situation again. Try to strike down Luca as she tries to strike you down."

Vibrava nodded as Luca jumped back. Vibrava repeated the process, where Luca repeated the same evasion tactic. This time, however, as Luca fell down for the strike, Vibrava's wings glowed a steely luster as the dragonfly struck at Luca's staff with his wings. Vibrava managed to hold off against the staff, but Luca easily overpowered Vibrava and smacked the staff across his face.

"Vibrava!" Hugh cried.

"Better," Nate said. "Could still use some polishing, but you get the gist of it. Also why the hell did you hit Vibrava?"

Luca simply shrugged her shoulders as Vibrava recovered from the blow, giving the jackal a stern glare.

"Alright then..." Nate said, before facing Eve and Rosa. "Now, you two need to learn how to adapt to the situation."

"As if," Rosa scoffed.

"Oh really?" Nate asked. "Then try landing a hit on Luca."

"Simple enough," Rosa said. "Eve, Take Down!"

Eve jumped out of her arms and began her charge at Luca, who charged aura into her paw and began to shoot a stream of small aura spheres at Eve. Eve evaded them while running towards Luca. Noticing this, Luca kept firing at Eve, but made a quick shot at where Eve would dodge, where the fox ended up getting hit by that one stray shot as she avoided the main fire of aura spheres.

"Eve!" Rosa cried.

"Anyone with a decent amount of prediction can read the momentum of Eve's evasion pattern and act accordingly," Nate said. "It's your job as her trainer to act accordingly to prevent that, or else you'll end up being your opponent's plaything."

Rosa leered at Nate, but although she didn't want to admit it, he had a point. Luca predicted Eve's movement easily and countered it accordingly. While it only happened once, she had a feeling that Luca could repeat the process as many times as she wanted.

"You wanna try again?" Nate asked.

"...Very well..." Rosa muttered.

Nate nodded to Luca, who stepped back, as Eve stepped back, more determined than ever.

"Eve, Take Down!" Rosa yelled.

Eve charged at Luca, who repeated the procedure and began to shoot a stream of small aura spheres at the fox. Eve ran across the field, avoiding the stream of spheres, where her fur began to stand a little, anticipating the incoming stray shot. Luca shot the stray shot that Eve anticipated, and sidestepped to the right, avoiding the Aura Sphere.

"-Anticipation...-" Luca commented, as she began to shoot more stray Aura Spheres to test Eve's prediction.

To her surprise, Eve managed to avoid all of them and lunged at Luca, smashing into her chest. Unfortunately, Luca didn't even flinch, as she picked Eve up once she made contact.

"-T-That had no effect?-" Eve gaped.

"-Well, I'm a Steel-type,-" Luca said matter-of-factly.

"Not the point," Nate said, before facing Rosa. "See? Now isn't that better? You're not as predictable now."

Rosa grumbled under her breath, but agreed nonetheless.

"Now, Tep," Nate said, turning to his fire pig. "Did you pay attention to those demonstrations?"

"-Did I ever, Boss!-" Tep squealed. "-That was very informative!-"

"Good," Nate smiled. "That'll help improve your skills, but visuals don't make everything. Practice makes perfect after all."

"-Aye, Boss!-" Tep saluted.

"Then how about you fight me with Tep then?" Rosa challenged. "Luca might be too strong for now, but we can totally take on Tep!"

"Of course you can, considering you have a Water-type on you," Nate snarked.

"What? Scared?" Rosa smirked.

"No, I'm just being rational," Nate replied.

"-I can take her!-" Tep snorted aggressively.

"Well at least someone's positive," Nate muttered.

"Uh...Excuse us..."

* * *

Before Rosa could pick a fight with Nate, everyone turned to the source; seeing a pair of farmers with a light brown, canine Pokémon with a short snout and long, cream fur, which forms a mustache.

"Uh...can we help you?" Nate asked.

"Yeah, it kinda sounded pretty lively up here, so we came to check it out," the man said. "You all were having a battle, huh?"

"It's nice to be young, huh?" the woman asked.

"And who are you two?" Hugh asked.

"I'm the owners of this ranch," the man said. "And this is my wife."

"Your Pokémon must be tired from battling," his wife said. "So here! Have these potions. They'll heal them right up!"

The woman handed the three of them a potion, which they accepted.

"Thanks...I guess..." Nate muttered, putting his away since Luca didn't take any significant damage.

"Potions are real useful for healing up your Pokémon when you're far away from a pokécenter," the wife said.

"Evidently, have you all seen a herdier by any chance?" the man asked.

"A herdier?" Rosa asked. "You mean like that one?"

The trio glanced down to the dog besides the owner. The herdier in question barked in response.

"Yes, but we have another one," the man explained. "We can't just seem to find it. These two are always together, so this is the first time that he wandered off like this...and I'm kind of getting a little worried."

While Nate raised an eyebrow, he glanced to his two companions. Rosa slightly stepped back away from Hugh, who looked like he was about to explode.

"'A little worried'?" Hugh asked angrily, before proceeding to explode. "Are you KIDDING me!?" Your Pokémon might be lost forever, and you're just a LITTLE WORRIED?!"

"W-Whoa, easy there," the owner said, startled by Hugh's sudden outburst. "Well yes we're worried about Herdier, but this ranch is huge, and is protected by the wildlife that live here. I'm sure he can't be in _that_ much trouble."

"Oh piss off!" Hugh spat. "Whatever, I'll look for him, since apparently you two can't be bothered to do so! Rosa, Nate! Help out!"

Before the ranchers could make a rebuttal, Hugh rushed off into the depths of the ranch, leaving the others in his dust.

"Geez, why did he have to get so mad?" the owner asked. "I'm sure he's probably just playing somewhere in the ranch."

Nate glanced back at Hugh as he disappeared into the ranch, while glancing at Rosa. He took note of how she backed away from him right before he unleashed his outburst, as if she had predicted that.

"So what was his problem?" Nate asked Rosa.

"It's...personal..." Rosa said a little uneasily, the tone of her voice somewhat surprising him.

"Uh huh..." Nate muttered. "Well if he hadn't gone berserk and actually thought rationally, then he'd remember that I could talk to these buggers."

As the two ranchers looked at him confused, Nate walked over and crouched down to the herdier.

"So, you have any idea where your buddy went?" Nate asked.

"-I remember him going along with some strange man in black,-" the herdier replied skeptically.

"A man in black?" Nate asked. "Any specifics?"

"-Wait, you can understand me?-" the herdier asked, shocked that a human could understand him.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Nate muttered.

"-Well, he had orange hair,-" the herdier said. "-But I didn't get to see where they went...-"

"So you have no idea where he went eh?" Nate asked, before contemplating. "...I got an idea."

"What is it?" Rosa asked.

"Alright, but don't judge me," Nate said.

Rosa tilted her head in confusion, as Nate lifted the herdier up and then began to smell him.

"Wha–?!" Rosa blurted.

"Don't judge me," Nate muttered as he continued to sniff the dog's fur.

"-Are you coming on to me?-" the herdier asked.

After a few seconds, Nate dropped the dog, before proceeding to sniff the air.

"...Oh there's where he went," he muttered.

"Wait, you can track the other herdier by following his scent?" Rosa asked.

"Well their both herdiers so I'm pretty sure they smell more or less the same," Nate said.

"What, you can use Odor Sleuth or something?" Rosa joked.

"You can say that," Nate chuckled. "Living in the wild does tend to force you to learn a few things."

Nate sniffed in the air of the ranch for a moment, before facing north of the ranch.

"Over there eh?" Nate smirked as Tep got onto Nate's shoulder. "Alright, let's go!"

The boy suddenly took off towards the direction, where Luca trailed behind, leaving Rosa and Eve in the dust.

"Wha–Don't leave me here!" Rosa yelled as she chased after Nate, leaving the two ranchers to themselves.

"That was strange..." the owner commented.

* * *

Nate raced towards the trees before jumping into the somewhat dense woods of the ranch, grabbing and jumping off of tree after tree like some kind of jungle man, with Tep hanging onto Nate's shoulder for dear life, and Luca keeping up with him.

"You alright, Tep?" Nate asked his Fire-type. "I probably should've held back a little, considering this is probably your first time going through something like this."

"-This is AWESOME!-" Tep squealed in excitement. "-It's like a roller coaster! I can't believe you're a normal human! As expected, you're AWESOME Boss!-"

"Gee, thanks," Nate said a little uneasily, somewhat embarrassed. "Although calling me normal is debatable."

"-Any luck?-" Luca asked from behind.

"No, can't seem to spot him anywhere..." Nate muttered as he took a whiff of the air once more. "His scent is getting stronger though, so he should be around here somewhere."

"Damn it! Stop biting me!"

They all turned to the direction of the sudden voice, originating from the center of the woods. Nate took a quick sniff, smirking when he smelled the scent of the herdier growing stronger over there.

"Bingo," Nate said.

Nate and Luca jumped towards the center of the woods and crashed through the trees, landing in front of a man with orange hair and blue eyes, wearing a black militaristic uniform, complete with a black officer's cap and a military vest, with his mouth covered. On his chest was a shield shaped insignia with a blue P, with one side black and the other white. With him was a herdier, which was currently gnawing on his arm.

"Get the hell off of me!" the man hissed in pain as he tried to pry the herdier off of him.

"Well, well, what do we have here," Nate said as Tep got off of his shoulder to prepare for battle, as did Luca.

The man glanced to see Nate and his Pokémon, before clicking his tongue.

"Tch...I've been found by a little pest..." the man muttered. "And stealing this herdier was all a bust!"

The man slammed his arm against a tree, smashing the herdier in the process, and forcing it to let go in pain.

"-Hey! You can't just do that!-" Tep growled.

"So what good would've came out of stealing a rancher's dog?" Nate asked as he crossed his arms.

"I'm a member of a group that strikes fear into the hearts of those who stand before it," the man said. "Team Plasma! Ever heard of it?"

' _Oh you have no idea...'_ Nate thought darkly. "It rings a bell."

"That's right! We're the righteous group that tried to conquer Unova two years ago in order to liberate Pokémon from the tyranny of humanity!" the man proclaimed.

"'Righteous'? Hardly the word I'd use to describe you freaks," Nate scoffed.

"Whatever..." the man growled. "Like a fool like you would understand us. First I get lost trying to steal this herdier, and now some nasty brat spotted me! All of this is your fault!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, how is this _my_ fault?" Nate asked. "You're the dumbass who tried to steal a dog from a rancher, and then got lost in said ranch. I just happened to find you, that's all. Half of this is your own damn fault. Don't blame an innocent kid for all of your problems."

"Why you...!" the man growled.

"Nate?! Is that you!?" Hugh's voice echoed through the woods. "Did you find the herdier!?"

"Oh great, someone else is coming," the man groaned. "I need to get the hell out of here!"

"Oh and where do you think you're going–?" Nate snarled as he reached for his knives.

The man took out a small pellet and threw it to the ground, releasing a huge smokescreen.

"GAH! SHIT!" Nate swore as the smoke got in his eyes.

As they were blinded, the man used this as an opportunity to make an escape, dashing past them and out of the woods.

"Damn it!" Nate swore as Luca cleared the smoke with her staff. "He got away?"

"-Unfortunately...-" Luca muttered, ashamed that she let the bastard retreat.

"Nate!"

Nate turned to see Hugh, having just reached them, panting slightly.

"Did you find him?!" Hugh asked.

"Yep," Nate said, pointing to the herdier that was happily circling around him. "He's alright."

"Thank god," Hugh sighed in relief. "So did you know why he was here?"

"Some bastard actually kidnapped him," Nate explained.

"WHAT?!" Hugh gasped. "Where did he go?!"

"The bastard used a smoke screen and got away," Nate muttered.

"GYAEEE!"

They all jumped at the scream of pain that echoed through the woods, turning to the direction that it came from.

"On second thought, maybe not..." Nate said.

* * *

The group rushed out of the woods, only to see, to their shock, the man in black, crouching in pain and incapacitated, with Rosa and Eve, who was snarling at him.

"What happened here?" Hugh asked.

"While I was trying to chase you, this freak tried to assault me out of nowhere," Rosa explained. "Fortunately, Eve made quick work of the problem."

"You caught the bastard?" Nate asked in shock.

"Of course," Rosa scoffed. "Anyone who would assault a lady deserves to be punished."

"I wasn't...even trying...to do that..." the man grunted in pain.

Hugh walked over and lifted the man onto his back. Upon seeing the insignia on his chest, Hugh's eyes widened, before lifting the man by his collar.

"You...you're from Team Plasma!" Hugh snarled.

"Y-Yeah, so what of it...?" the man grunted, still suffering from the pain from Eve.

"5 years ago. Do you know of a purrloin that you bastards stole from a girl 5 years ago?" Hugh suddenly interrogated.

"W-Wha...? No...?" the man asked in confusion.

Hugh clicked his tongue in annoyance, before punching the man straight in the face, knocking him unconscious.

"Damn..." Nate said.

"It wasn't him either," Hugh muttered.

"And the hell's your problem?" Nate asked Hugh.

Hugh glanced at Nate, before the two ranchers came rushing for them.

"What happened?" the owner asked.

"We found your dog," Nate said. "And some creep trying to steal him for questionable actions."

While the two looked surprised, the herdier with Nate happily went to the owner, reuniting with his brethren.

"Well, at the very least Herdier's all right," the owner said. "You had us worried. At least you're safe now."

"You're awfully calm about this, considering your herdier was kidnapped," Hugh almost snarled. "Your Pokémon could've been gone forever! Take better care of it!"

With that, Hugh left the scene, leaving the others behind.

"Seriously, what's his problem?" Nate asked.

Nate glanced to Rosa, who had that same uneasy expression she had when Hugh first snapped.

"Well at any rate, we're thankful for all of your help in finding our herdier," the wife said. "We'll call the police to have this man arrested."

"Hmm..." the owner wondered. "I wonder if something happened to him..."

"Huh?" Nate asked.

"It's like he's afraid of losing Pokémon," the owner commented. "...Eh, it's no use pondering over it since he's gone. C'mon, Herdiers, let's go home."

The ranchers gave Nate and Rosa their thanks once more, before heading back to the ranch, leaving the two and their Pokémon.

"Welp, let's get to the next city," Nate muttered, before glancing at Rosa. "And you wouldn't happen to know what was wrong with our friend?"

"It's...not really my place to tell you," Rosa said.

Nate raised an eyebrow, before contemplating. From what the owner implied, it seemed like Hugh was afraid of the thought of Herdier being lost forever. Then there was his animosity when Team Plasma was mentioned, from when he mentioned it back at Flocessy Town, and here, when he punched out the Plasma grunt. Maybe, perhaps...

...Well, he can only confirm it from Hugh, whenever he's ready to spill his part. Of course, Nate wanted to know now, but he wasn't that insensitive to just bug him about something that's obviously personal. Hell, even Rosa was somewhat uneasy about the idea.

"...No use worrying about it now," Nate muttered. "C'mon, let's go."

* * *

After regrouping with Hugh outside the ranch, they made their way through the remainder of Route 20, until finally reaching the next city; Virbank City.

"Awkward silence is always awkward," Nate stated, commenting on the awkward silence that had made up the majority of their trip through Route 20. He faced Hugh, who was staring at the other direction. "You calmed down?"

"...Yeah," Hugh muttered. "Sorry if I made you worry a bit."

"No, not really," Nate shrugged. "Just surprised by your actions is all. I figured you be the calm one to keep this arrogant blowhard in check."

"Hey!" Rosa yelled.

"Don't worry about it," Hugh muttered.

Nate stared at Hugh passively, before dropping it. Hugh didn't want to share his problems, so Nate decided not to pick at him about it. Hey, if he was stuck with them, might as well not piss him off too much. Unlike Rosa, Hugh was actually reasonable. Well Rosa was reasonable when she wanted to be, but Hugh was more tolerable overall.

"Get real!"

The trio perked up to see a commotion in the middle of the city. There was a girl with white hair tied in a ponytail and blue eyes, wearing a blue dress with purple stripes and black boots. She was currently yelling at a sailor.

"You're a captain already, aren't you Dad? If that ship doesn't move, you're going to cause lots of trouble!" the girl yelled.

"Don't try to stop me, Roxie!" the sailor proclaimed. "I'm off to Pokéstar Studios to live up to my true potential! My dream is to be a ship captain and a movie star!"

"But Dad–!" the girl, Roxie, tried to protest.

"Oh, dear daughter, you split your time between your responsibilities as a gym leader and with your band, right?" the man, her father, reasoned. "If you can split your responsibilities, then I can do that, too!"

Without another word of protest or argument, the man rushed off elsewhere, leaving his daughter in the middle of the city.

"Father of the year, everybody," Nate said sarcastically.

"AAAAAGH!" Roxie yelled. "You dim-witted...dense...dumb...daft...dippy...dorky...doltish...doofish...DUMBASS!"

Roxie began grinding her foot on the ground in frustration, earning herself a few stares.

"For fuck's sake, doing double duty isn't the problem, you asshat!" Roxie swore. "You're fucking causing problems for people! Keeping people from getting where they're going because of your own selfishness is unforgivable!"

"AAAGH! I've had it! I'm going to the gym! This shit is pissing me off!" Roxie growled, stomping out of the scene.

"Well she certainly swears like a sailor," Nate snickered.

"So that's the gym leader?" Rosa asked.

"Yep," Nate said. "I managed to catch a glimpse of this place's gym while I was here earlier."

"You were here earlier?" Hugh asked.

"How do you think I got to Aspertia in the first place?" Nate retorted. "Anyways, she's certainly stronger than Cowlick on Normal Mode, I dunno how she fares on Challenge. Although I do advise that you expand your roster."

"Huh?" Rosa and Hugh asked.

"I mean, are you both planning to go through your journeys with just the two on your hand right now?" Nate asked. "I'm sure now's a good opportunity to expand your roster. Besides, I plan to do so anyways, regardless of what you two think."

"So, might as well go catch a new Pokémon?" Rosa asked.

"Yep," Nate said. "There's a complex outside the city, full of wild Pokémon. I'm sure there's something in there to your likings."

"I don't see why not," Hugh said.

"Very well," Rosa said. "Let's heal our Pokémon first, then go visit the complex."

All in agreement, they all headed for the pokécenter. Rosa decided to share her 'brilliant plan' to what kind of Pokémon she was going to catch, where Hugh rolled his eyes, and Nate simply tuned her out.

' _Looks like Keldeo's warning came true...'_ Nate thought. _'If Plasma's back, then there's no doubt that Ghetsis is back too...and with Plasma back...then they'll certainly come back too.'_

Nate grinned at the thought. It was two years since he saw them. A nostalgic feeling visited his thoughts. A part of him was happy about that, happy that there was a possibility that he could reunite with them, but he knew that his own feelings couldn't get in the way. He had an objective to complete. And even he wouldn't stop him.

Whether the end result spelled chaos or not; he didn't care.

* * *

 **AN:** While I could've included more, and throw the Virbank Complex into this chapter (which I originally planned to do so), I figured this would be a good place to stop, and I figured this was enough for one chapter. Don't worry, these short chapters won't happen often if you're worried about not enough content. If you're thinking the complete opposite, and like these shorter chapters, well...sorry it's kind of hard for me to write short chapters nowadays for some reason.

Anyways, we get the first appearance of Team Plasma! What else are they up to now? You're gonna have to wait and find out.

Current Team Roster:

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Tep (Tepig)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Oshawott)

Hugh: Vibrava / Snivy

Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the chapter and look forward to the next chapter. See ya next time!


	5. 05: Complex Girls

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 5: Complex Girls**

* * *

 **AN:** Hey there guys! Here's a brand new chapter for ya! But before that:

To the guest who reviewed a few days ago, saying that they would leave a review everyday until I posted a new chapter: while I'm glad you like my story enough to incline you to do that, and don't get me wrong; I feel flattered; I'd like it if you didn't do that. Repeatedly posting a review asking me/telling me to post the next chapter is essentially bugging me to rush it, and it kinda gets to me since you're not offering me any insight on how you think the story or a particular chapter was or any tips or suggestions, just you telling me to make the next chapter. This chapter was almost finished when you started posting the reviews, so you kinda got off lucky; but don't expect these to come out so quickly. It takes time for me to write these up, and I'd like it if people didn't tell me to essentially rush it. Hey, I'm not mad or anything, and it's not like you did anything particularly wrong, I would just like it if you would be patient. And you were pretty civil about it; I remember back at Color of Your Soul where there was this one guy who was kinda hostile when telling me to make the next chapter before he eventually mellowed down, that I kinda felt inclined not to make it just to teach him patience.

I know it's also my fault (sort of) since I tend to take a while to make these, but I'd really hope you understand when I ask you to be patient and to refrain from posting daily 'reviews' telling me to write the next chapter, and I'm sorry if this offended you in any way. I know you didn't mean any harm, and believe me I'm not upset or mad at you; just please be patient with these things before this gets out of hand.

Sorry about that mini-rant (if that could be considered a rant since I wasn't particularly angry), but I'd rather deal with this before it does get out of hand, because trust me, I saw that sort of happen back in the prequel, and his language wasn't exactly 'kid-friendly'.

Anyways, let's go on with the story.

* * *

The Virbank Complex. A construction zone that lies south of the harbor city of Virbank. There is a wooden dam that separates the waterway of Virbank City from the rest of the sea. It also serves as a training place for trainers, with trainers free to fight one another, or challenge the wildlife that makes the construction zone their home.

Our familiar trio made their way to the complex, taking in the sight of the large construction sight.

"So this is the Virbank Complex, huh..." Hugh muttered.

"Hard to believe that Pokémon made such an industrialized place into a home," Rosa commented.

"That surprises you?" Nate asked. "Pokémon are pretty perseverant. They can adapt to a lot of environments should the need arise."

"So, you have any idea what kind of Pokémon live here?" Hugh asked Nate.

"Mostly Fire and Electric types," Nate commented. "You two would probably benefit from catching a Fire-type."

"A Fire-type...that would be great," Hugh commented.

"What about you?" Rosa asked. "You already have a Fire-type."

"I'm probably just gonna train up Tep," Nate said as he released Tep. "Maybe catch a new Pokémon if it interests me enough."

"-We're gonna do some training, Boss?-" Tep asked.

"Yep," Nate said. "It's about time I gave you some proper training."

Tep snorted out some flames from his nose, raring for a fight to finally improve his skills. Nate simply chuckled at Tep, before heading off.

"Wait, aren't you gonna watch us?" Rosa asked.

"What do I look like, your babysitter?" Nate asked. "You guys can handle yourselves. Or do you want me to make sure you don't get in trouble?"

"Fine then!" Rosa growled in annoyance by Nate's condescending tone.

"Alright then," Hugh said. "You wanna meet up back at the entrance before nightfall?"

"Sounds like a plan," Nate said before heading off.

"Seriously, what is with his attitude?" Rosa huffed.

"We've only been with him for a day," Hugh said. "He won't open up to us that quickly."

"I'd wish he'd respect me a little more," Rosa pouted.

"C'mon, let's go find a Fire-type," Hugh said.

Rosa sighed as she followed Hugh into the complex, in search of a Fire-type suitable for their likings.

* * *

"Ember!"

Tep shot a stream of embers at an opposing patrat, sending the chipmunk into a steel poll, knocking it out. Nate looked around, spotting a robotic sphere-like Pokémon with magnets on the side charge electricity, aiming for Tep from behind.

"A magnemite," Nate muttered, before taking out his knife and flinging it at the magnemite.

The knife clashed with the magnemite's metallic body, making the robotic sphere flinch from the sudden impact and bouncing back the knife. The collision also made a loud clang sound, alerting Tep of the magnemite behind him, where he turned and shot another stream of embers at the magnemite. The magnemite screamed in pain as it fell.

"-Thanks Boss!-" Tep exclaimed.

"Your back is way open," Nate scolded lightly. "You should've sensed that."

"-S-Sorry...-" Tep muttered ashamed.

"It's alright," Nate assured his partner. "You're still training. I don't expect you to be perfect from the start of the bat."

As Tep looked relieved, Nate took out his pokédex and scanned the fallen patrat and magnemite, recording their data into the dex. As he finished scanning them, another pair of patrats showed up from some bushes, seeing their fallen comrade and glaring at Tep and Nate in fury.

"Oh? Is someone mad?" Nate taunted. "Come on. We need a better challenge."

The two patrats snarled as they charged at Tep.

"Smog!"

Tep released a thick gray smoke at the incoming patrats, stopping them in their assault and making them cough furiously, desperately trying not to inhale the gases.

"Flame Charge!"

Tep cloaked himself in flames and charged into the smog, smashing into one of them while it was blinded by the smog. The other patrat saw Tep in the gases and tried to attack him, but Tep swiftly jumped over it, and landed on the second patrat's face, knocking it out.

"-Heh! Too easy!-" Tep snorted with pride.

"Not bad," Nate complimented as he checked up on Tep with the pokédex. "Alright, Ember, Smog, Flame Charge, Tackle. Probably should get rid of Tackle for something. Maybe a Fighting-type move. That'll help against Rock-types."

"-Boss, if you want me to know a Fighting-type move, then just wait 'til I evolve!-" Tep told Nate. "-Then I'll be a mighty pignite and vanquish even more morons!-"

"While that's a good thing and I like your enthusiasm, you're still not a pignite yet," Nate replied. "So for now, teaching you something like Rock Smash will have to do."

"-I see,-" Tep said. "-So what're we waiting for?-"

"Well, I don't have the TM for it," Nate muttered. "And Luca doesn't know Rock Smash, so she can't just teach you a move she doesn't know. Sorry about that."

"-It's alright Boss,-" Tep assured his trainer. "-You've already done so much for me.-"

"Is that so," Nate said. "Alright then, according to this thing, we can find a growlithe, a magby, and an elekid. An elekid would be nice, it can evolve into an electivire, which would really help against–."

"-Hey, Boss,-" Tep suddenly mentioned. "-Look over there.-"

Nate looked at Tep, who was pointing to another direction. Nate followed the direction that he was pointing to, to see two construction workers, seemingly harassing a girl.

"C'mon, what's the harm?" one of the construction workers asked in a serenading tone. "No one will know."

"Uh...no really, I just want to–," the girl timidly tried to shoot them down.

"No need to be shy," the second worker said. "We can take some time off and show you around the city."

"No, really that's alright–," the girl said.

The girl was shyly trying to turn down the two construction workers, but to no avail. Nate watched the event, and rolled his eyes.

"Pathetic," Nate muttered. "Just reject them already."

"-But it looks like they won't let her,-" Tep noted.

Nate rolled his eyes at them. It was just pathetic. Watching the two grown men hitting on a girl who was obviously younger than them; and obviously a minor at that. And watching the girl trying to reject the two men with pitiful results was pathetic to him.

"-Wow...she looks totally helpless like that,-" Tep commented.

"Helpless..." Nate muttered, eyes widening slightly.

Hearing the word 'helpless' sparked something in him. Strangely, another kind of nostalgic feeling, something he was familiar with in the past. A feeling that kept haunting him throughout his life.

Unlike the other nostalgic feelings in the past, this one irritated him to no ends.

"Tch...Watching this shit is pissing me off..." Nate hissed under his breath as he approached them.

"C'mon, just a little bit," the first worker said.

As the girl tried to get away, a sound of a camera snapping got their attention, as they all turned to Nate, holding an Xtransceiver like a camera.

"H-Hey...what do you have there?" the first construction worker asked nervously.

"Oh I dunno, just a picture of you two grown ass men sexually harassing a girl who's clearly a minor," Nate said in a mischievous tone.

They all looked horrified at the Xtransceiver, the girl looking the most horrified out of the three, which Nate had in his hands with a devilish grin.

"Oh I wonder what would happen if I showed this to your boss?" Nate asked. "Or worse, the police for that matter?"

"H-Hey, let's not get hasty here," the second worker said nervously.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON!?"

Everyone looked to see a new face, an older, and very angry looking construction worker.

"Shit! The Boss!" the first one gaped.

"You two!" the third worker, their boss supposedly, snarled. "I was wondering where you two went...what the hell were you two doing?!"

"No-nothing, nothing at all..." the second one muttered.

"Oh reaaaally?" Nate sneered from the side, holding the Xtransceiver in his hand.

"If you two aren't doing anything, then get the hell back to work!" their boss growled. "Unless you want to be fired?!"

"N-NO SIR!" the two yelled, before running off to their work.

"Seriously...fucking slackers..." the boss growled, before turning to Nate and the girl. "Sorry about those two...today was a slow day, so a bunch of my workers decided that slacking off would be a good idea...I hope they weren't a bother."

"No, not at all," Nate lied.

"Still, this was my fault for not keeping them in line," the boss said, before taking out a disk. "Here. This is for you."

"Huh?" Nate asked, before accepting the disk and examining it. "A Technical Machine...Rock Smash?"

"Think of this as my apology for my stupid subordinates," the boss said.

"You sure?" Nate asked.

"Keep it," the boss insisted. "I have spares."

"Oh, thanks," Nate said.

With that, the boss bid the two farewell, leaving them to themselves. Nate glanced back at the girl, who was hiding her expression underneath her hat, seemingly intimidated by Nate's leer.

* * *

"And you," Nate decided to address the girl. "You alright?"

Upon closer examination, the girl had light pink hair that went down to her shoulders with a side fringe, light blue eyes, and was wearing a white and hot pink panama, a white shirt with small sleeves and a baby blue long-sleeved shirt underneath.

"Uh...yes, I'm fine," the girl replied timidly. "Uh...thank you for helping me out there."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Nate said. _'It's not like I did it because I wanted to.'_

"-You should be thankful that the Boss decided to save you!-" Tep snorted to the girl.

"You know she can't hear you," Nate muttered to Tep.

"Um..." the girl stuttered. "A-About that picture you took..."

Nate took a glance at his Xtransceiver, checking it to see that the picture he took of the two workers harassing her was intact. He took a quick glance at the girl, who looked extremely distressed under her hat. Her expression says it all; she definitely doesn't want that picture to exist. The picture held a lot of power over her. He could use it to gain something from her; that was for sure.

He could use the picture for blackmail for sure.

"...Right..." Nate said, before promptly deleting the picture. "There, deleted. Happy?"

"Eh?" the girl asked, surprised.

"Blackmailing innocent girls isn't really my thing," Nate said. "While I'm known for doing a bunch of things, that isn't one of them. Besides..."

Nate stared at the girl, who stared back curiously.

"It's not like I would gain anything particular from blackmailing you," Nate said.

"Wh-What makes you say that?" the girl asked.

"Just a hunch," Nate shrugged.

"O-Okay..." the girl said, sighing in relief, before smiling. "Thank you...for that..."

"Whatever," Nate rolled his eyes. "Although, that was a pathetic display, to put it bluntly."

"Eh?" the girl asked.

"You should've been more assertive to reject those two," Nate said. "At that rate, they would've been able to do whatever they wanted."

"I-I guess..." the girl muttered. "Sorry..."

"Why're you apologizing to me?" Nate asked. "Just be more assertive."

"I will," the girl said. "By the way, what's your name?"

Nate glanced at the girl, examining the girl.

 _I guess there's no problem telling her that, at least._

"The name's Nate," he said.

"Nate..." the girl repeated it in her mouth. "Alright. My name's Yancy."

"Alright then," Nate said. "Since you're out of trouble, I'll be on my way–."

"Ah, wait!" Yancy exclaimed, stopping him. "I was wondering..."

"Ah?" Nate asked.

"I was wondering...if you can help me catch a Pokémon," Yancy asked.

"Huh?" Nate asked. "Speaking of which, what the hell's a frail-looking girl like you doing here, anyways?"

"Uh...I was...uh...visiting a friend! Yeah, I was visiting a friend," Yancy said. "She was busy, so I decided to visit the complex while I was here...and maybe catch a Pokémon for memories' sake."

"Uh huh..." Nate said. "Well, why don't you go catch a Pokémon? Why do you need my help?"

"Well...I never caught...a Pokémon before..." Yancy mumbled, her face flushing in embarrassment.

"...Huh?" Nate asked. "You never caught a Pokémon before?"

Yancy simply nodded in response.

"...Okay then..." Nate muttered. "Do you at least have Pokémon on you?"

"Oh, yes!" Yancy said, taking out two Pokémon and releasing them.

From the two pokéballs, came out two bear-like Pokémon, one landing in front of Yancy, while the other landing behind her, making a huge thud equivalent to a small earthquake. The one in front of Yancy was a small, bipedal, ursine Pokémon covered in short, orange-brown fur with a tan crescent marking on its face, which looked cute and cuddly to the eyes of many.

However, Nate and Tep gaped at the other bear behind Yancy. The other bear was huge; a bipedal, dark blue-green bear-like Pokémon with a cream-colored face, where the majority of its huge body was made up by its large stomach.

"...A teddiursa...and a snorlax..." Nate muttered. "And you're sure you never caught a Pokémon before?

"-Holy crap that thing is huge...-" Tep gaped at the sight of Yancy's Snorlax.

"Yes...these two were actually gifts from my father," Yancy said as she carried Teddiursa in her arms. "I never actually caught one before..."

"...Okay, I can buy that..." Nate muttered, still shocked by the sight of the gargantuan bear behind her. "A-Alright then...let's go find something for you to catch."

"Really?" Yancy asked. "You'll help me?"

"I mean, I was gonna plan to catch something anyways," Nate muttered. "Bringing extra company wouldn't change much."

"Thank you!" Yancy exclaimed excitedly, gleefully following her new friend.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rosa and Hugh were walking through the depths of the complex, with Ottavia and Snivy out front.

"-So...where are we?-" Ottavia asked Snivy.

Snivy simply shrugged his limbs as he ventured forward.

"-You don't...talk much...do you?-" Ottavia asked.

Snivy shook his head in response.

"-Can I ask...why?-" Ottavia asked.

Snivy pointed to his neck.

"-Your neck?-" Ottavia asked.

Snivy nodded.

"-...You...can't speak?-" Ottavia asked.

Snivy nodded.

"-I...see...-" Ottavia muttered.

Meanwhile, Rosa and Hugh were observing their starters' conversation.

"I wonder what they're talking about," Rosa pondered.

Hugh, on the other hand, was paying close attention to Snivy's gestures to Ottavia, specifically when he was pointing to his neck.

' _So he can't speak...is that it?'_ Hugh thought.

As the group ventured into the complex, Snivy stopped them.

"Snivy?" Hugh asked.

Snivy leered at the field of grass in front of them, seemingly getting ready to fight. Hugh got the message, and prepared himself, which Rosa took note of and did the same. From the grass, two Pokémon walked out of it. One was a small, orange quadruped canine with black stripes and cream-colored fur on its muzzle, chest, belly and tail. The other one was a bipedal red Pokémon with a yellow, flame-shaped marking on its stomach.

"A growlithe...and a magby," Hugh said. "Lucky. Two Fire-types at the same time."

"Oh my gosh! I MUST have that growlithe!" Rosa squealed. "It's just too cute!"

Hugh sweat-dropped at Rosa, as he scanned the two Fire-types.

"Growlithe, the puppy Pokémon. Extremely loyal to its Trainer, it will bark at those who approach the Trainer unexpectedly and run them out of town."

"Magby, the live coal Pokémon. It's small, but its body temperature is over 1,100 degrees F. Embers escape its mouth and nose when it breathes."

"Ottavia, get ready!" Rosa commanded. "We're capturing that growlithe!"

"-R-Right!-" Ottavia responded.

"Snivy, your target's Magby!" Hugh exclaimed.

Snivy nodded in response as he got ready to fight the magby.

"-What are these people?-" Growlithe asked.

"-They want to fight,-" Magby told his friend. "-So let's give them a fight!-"

Growlithe barked enthusiastically as she growled at Ottavia, as Magby spat out embers, glaring at Snivy.

"Ottavia, Water Gun!"

Ottavia shot a stream of water at Growlithe, who dodged it and charged at Ottavia.

"Guard it!" Rosa yelled.

Ottavia detached her shell and used it as a shield, defending herself from Growlithe's attack and pushing the pup back. Meanwhile, Magby shot a stream of embers at Snivy, who swiftly evaded it.

"Wrap!"

Snivy shot his vines at Magby, wrapping them around Magby and strangling the Fire-type, before repeatedly slamming him down to the ground.

' _Snivy's pretty good with close quarters...'_ Hugh thought. _'Completely opposite from Vibrava...'_

Magby managed to free himself from the wrap and approached the snake disarmingly, before suddenly jumping behind him and slamming his foot at Snivy, who barely blocked it with his vines.

"Tch, he's pretty good," Hugh muttered. "How's yours doing?"

Hugh turned to Rosa, who was paying more attention to Ottavia as she dodged a burning growlithe.

"A little rough," Rosa commented. "Razor Shell, Ottavia!"

Ottavia jumped back, and created a blue blade from her shell, brandishing it as Growlithe charged back at her, fangs bared. Ottavia ducked under to avoid Growlithe's Bite attack, and slashed Growlithe with the blue blade as she fell.

"Now!" Rosa yelled as she took out a pokéball and hurled it at the fallen growlithe.

The ball smacked Growlithe on the head, where the pokéball opened up and shot a red beam at Growlithe, sucking her into the pokéball. The ball dropped, shook three times, and a light sparkled around it.

"Success!" Rosa cheered as she went to pick up the pokéball. "Growlithe is caught!"

"-Phew...-" Ottavia sighed in relief as she put away her shell.

"You see that, Hugh?" Rosa asked gleefully as she showed him the ball. "I caught my target!"

"Yes, yes, congratulations," Hugh muttered, not paying attention to her. "Not now!"

Snivy kept blocking all of Magby's attack with relevant ease, irritating the magby.

"-AAGH THAT'S IT!-" Magby growled as he recklessly charged at Snivy.

"Now! Leaf Tornado!" Hugh commanded.

Snivy turned upside down and spun rapidly, creating a tornado of sharp leaves that shot at Magby, slashing him with the leaves. As Magby tried to defend himself, Snivy took the opening and dashed behind Magby, slamming his vine across Magby's back. Hugh saw the opening and hurled a pokéball at Magby, where the same process occurred, successfully capturing Magby.

"And that's that," Hugh said as he retrieved the pokéball. "Nice job, Snivy."

Snivy receded his vines as he smiled.

"Hehe! I caught mine's first!" Rosa boasted.

"Of course you would, since you were using a Water-type against a Fire-type, while I used a Grass-type against a Fire-type," Hugh simply retorted. "Frankly it would've been embarrassing if I actually caught mine's first."

Rosa grumbled at Hugh who simply put her down, and was about to say something, until something caught her eye.

"Huh?" Rosa asked.

"Hm?" Hugh asked as Rosa was staring at something. "What's wrong?"

Rosa squinted her eyes at something, where Hugh faced the same direction. To his surprise, he saw Nate, who was accompanying a girl, who was carrying a teddiursa.

"What the...? Is that Nate?" Hugh asked.

"More importantly, who's that he's with?" Rosa asked. "I-Is he with a girl?!"

"Well I'll be," Hugh said. "Never expected Nate to actually take interest in a girl."

"We're going after him," Rosa suddenly declared.

"For once I agree with you," Hugh said. "This is too interesting not to pass up."

The two of them quickly recalled their starters as they followed Nate and the girl.

* * *

Nate and Yancy walked through another part of the complex, venturing into a darker path of grass.

"Uh..." Yancy mumbled. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to find you a Pokémon to capture," Nate said matter-of-factly. "The best way to teach someone is with a demonstration, after all."

"I see..." Yancy replied.

"Preferably something easy though..." Nate said. "Any type preference?"

"I-I like Normal-types...if that's okay..." Yancy replied.

"Normal-types, eh?" Nate mumbled. "So a patrat would be good...wait, there's gotta be something easier..."

As they looked around, a large patch of grass was shaking restlessly, catching the duo's attention.

"-Who's there!?-" Tep growled, getting ready to fight.

As Nate reached for his knife, the Pokémon revealed itself to be a bipedal, pink-and-cream Pokémon with oval, blue eyes, and a patterning on its fur that resembled a jacket.

"An audino..." Nate muttered.

"So cute..." Yancy gushed slightly at the audino as Nate scanned it.

"Audino, the hearing Pokémon," it read. "Using the feelers on its ears, it can tell how someone is feeling or when an egg might hatch."

"So I guess you want this one, eh?" Nate asked Yancy, who nodded. "Alright then, get your teddiursa ready for battle."

"R-Right," Yancy said as she set her teddiursa on the ground. "Alright, Teddi, get ready."

"-Okay!-" Teddi replied as he got ready to fight.

"Alright then," Nate said. "Now, pay attention to your opponent's actions, and weaken it to a point where it can't resist the capture–?!"

Nate suddenly glanced up to the right, where he took out his knife, grabbed Yancy, and slashed at a stray electric shock headed for Yancy's direction.

"H-Huh?!" Yancy blurted, her cheeks somewhat red.

"Looks like we have a party-crasher," Nate growled as he glanced up.

Sitting on top of a distillation tower was a yellow, round-bodied Pokémon with black stripes; its head having two horns that resemble the prongs of a plyg, complete with holes in their sides.

"An elekid?" Nate muttered as he scanned the Pokémon.

"Elekid, the electric Pokémon," it read. "Spinning its arms around to generate electricity makes the area between its horns shine light blue."

"-You're that trainer with the tepig who's been going around fighting the other mons in the complex, eh?-" the elekid asked.

"Oh? And if we were?" Nate asked Elekid.

"-Haha! You can actually understand us Pokémon!-" Elekid laughed. "-How interesting!-"

The elekid pointed one of his claws at Nate and Tep, before wagging it in a taunting manner.

"-Fight me,-" Elekid said. "-I want to see if you two are as strong as the mons in the complex keep saying you are.-"

"-Who the hell do you think you are?!-" Tep growled back. "-If you wanna fight Boss, then you're gonna have to take me down first!-"

"-Heh! Fine by me,-" Elekid smirked as he lifted his arm, where a pale blue aura surrounded it. "-I'm really itching to see what you two are made of.-"

Elekid jumped off the tower and plummeted towards them. Nate grabbed Yancy and jumped out of the way, as Elekid slammed his arm at the ground, freezing the grassland around him.

"This one knows Ice Punch..." Nate mused as he saw the ice encase the ground around Elekid. "Interesting..."

Yancy glanced at Nate, shaking in slight fear as she witnessed Nate sport a murderous grin and feral eyes.

"You're on..." Nate said in a predacious tone. "If I'm gonna catch something to add to my team, then you'll definitely fit the role."

Tep snorted flames in aggression as he faced the Elekid, who grinned and lunged for Tep with ice punches ready. Elekid then proceeded to jab at Tep rapidly with Ice Punches, where Tep avoided them barely.

"-C'mon, c'mon!-" Elekid roared. "-Pikc up the pace, will ya'?!-"

Elekid let loose a nasty left hook, socking Tep in the cheek and sending him flying back.

"You alright?!" Nat asked as Tep got back on his feet.

"-I can still fight, Boss!-" Tep shouted.

"Alright then...Ember!" Nate quickly commanded as he confirmed Tep's status.

Tep shot a stream of embers at Elekid, who quickly spun his arms around and shot a jolt of electricity at the incoming embers, erasing it.

"Not bad..." Nate muttered.

"Are you alright?" Yancy asked Nate.

"Yeah," Nate replied. "More importantly, focus on your battle."

Yancy glanced back, as Audino rammed into Teddi, sending the small bear back.

"Ah–Teddi!" Yancy cried.

"See? What did I tell you?" Nate asked. "Focus on the battle!"

"S-Sorry!" Yancy said. "Teddi, use Slash!"

Teddi got back up, rushed at Audino and slashed at it, sending the hearing Pokémon back. While Teddi was battling the audino, Tep rammed at Elekid, who blocked the tackle with his arms and pushed Tep back. Elekid then rushed for Tep and swiped his leg across Tep, making the pig trip. As Tep fell, Elekid granned Tep with one claw, while spinning his other arm rapidly, producing several electric currents that shocked Tep.

"-AAAAGH!-" Tep screamed in pain.

"Ah, your tepig!" Yancy exclaimed.

"I know!" Nate reprimanded. "I know you can handle that much! Flame Charge!"

Tep glared at Elekid, before cloaking himself with fire while withstanding the electricity, burning Elekid.

"-GAH!-" the Electric-type screamed in pain, forcing him to let go and stop the attack to tend to his burned arm.

Meanwhile, Tep was having trouble moving, paralyzed from the current of electricity.

"Shrug it off! Rock Smash!" Nate yelled.

Doing his best to ignore the paralysis, Tep rushed at Elekid and slammed his tail at his head, right between the prongs on his head. Elekid groaned in pain as he tried to recover from it, before lunging for Tep madly with an Ice Punch.

"Charge through!" Nate yelled.

Tep nodded as he charged at Elekid, ducking underneath the Ice Punch and slamming into Elekid's gut. As Elekid fell, Nate took out a pokéball and hurled it at Elekid, smacking him in the gut again while the device opened up and sucked Elekid in with a red beam. The ball dropped and shook three times, before it flashed, signaling its capture.

"And that's that," Nate said.

"You caught Elekid!" Yancy rejoiced.

"Yeah, and you still need to capture Audino," Nate said.

"R-Right," Yancy said. "Teddi, are you alright?"

Teddi nodded in response as he jumped back, avoiding a slap from Audino.

"C'mon, we can do this!" Yancy cheered. "Close Combat!"

"...Heh?" Nate asked, as Teddi's eyes suddenly glinted as he rushed at the audino and furiously slapped the hearing Pokémon into a pulp before slapping it away.

"Now! Throw a pokéball at it while it's down!" Nate exclaimed, snapping out of his initial shock.

"R-Right!" Yancy stuttered, taking out a pokéball. "Go!"

Yancy threw the pokéball at the audino, where it hit the audino on the head and dragged it in. The ball dropped, shook three times, and flashed, indicating that the audino was captured.

* * *

"I-I did it!" Yancy exclaimed.

"Not bad," Nate said. "Didn't expect the teddy bear to know Close Combat though..."

"Yeah...a lot of people don't expect it either," Yancy admitted.

"Well, there you go," Nate said. "You caught your audino. Happy?"

"Yes," Yancy said. "Thank you for helping me."

"I didn't really do much other than getting you to face it," Nate shrugged. "You did most of the work while I fought something else."

"But I still couldn't have done this without your help...and you even defended me from that elekid's attack," Yancy smiled. "So thank you."

Nate glanced at Yancy, who was smiling sincerely at him. Seeing someone showing sincere gratitude like this; someone so innocent. He was certainly not used to this kind of gratitude. At least not from a _human_ at least.

"...Whatever..." Nate muttered, scratching the back of his head.

"Um...if you don't mind..." Yancy said. "You seemed like you were talking to that elekid. Can you understand them?"

"Ah? Yeah," Nate replied offhandedly.

"Really?" Yancy asked, fascinated. "That's really cool!"

...Strange. Normally people would be weary of that fact; considering that the only two other people who were historically recorded to share his ability were terrorists and 'heroes' alike. It was an unnatural ability. People should be off-put; unnerved by that.

"I-I guess..." Nate muttered, not knowing how else to respond.

"-Of course he's cool!-" Tep snorted. "-That's the Boss for ya!-"

"She can't hear you," Nate muttered to Tep.

"Y'know, you're a lot nicer than you look," Yancy commented.

"Huh? What makes you say that?" Nate asked.

"I mean, you saved me from those two harassers," Yancy explained. "And you even helped me catch a Pokémon. You do look pretty shady and intimidating...but you're still pretty nice."

Nate leered at Yancy. Something about that statement irked him.

Him? Being nice to _humans_?

While there were certainly a few exceptions in this world, he being nice to them was something he found unthinkable. Especially after all the shit he's been through and seen.

"Look, the only reason why I decided to help you out there was because I found you pathetic back there...it was irritating to watch..." Nate said bluntly. "It wasn't because I wanted to play the nice guy or anything."

Yancy looked a little shocked and discouraged at Nate's confession and sudden cold tone as the boy glanced away. Despite this, however, she didn't stay down.

"Even if that's true," Yancy insisted. "You still helped me out, and you did a pretty good job at playing the nice guy, even if you detest it."

Nate glanced at Yancy, surprised that she actually defended her opinion on him. She actually thinks that he's...nice...

...This wasn't right. People were supposed to treat him like trash; manipulate him; hate him. Not like him and thank him like what she was doing, or think that he was _nice_.

"This was my first captured Pokémon..." Yancy said, placing Audino's pokéball to her chest. "She's the symbol of our meeting, and our time here. I'll treasure her no matter what."

...This DEFINITELY wasn't right. He literally told her that she was pathetic to him, and irritating. He has an ability that was branded as 'unnatural'; an ability that branded him as something akin to a freak of nature. She should at least have some feeling of contempt towards him. And yet...nothing. He couldn't see anything like that from her and her innocent smile.

This girl was naïve. Innocent, quick to believe anyone that showed her a decent level of kindness, and gullible to accept anything, and unsuspecting of it. He could've been a swindler who did all of this just to sway her, take something important from her, whether it be money, valuables, her Pokémon, or her virginity for that matter, if you wanted to go that far.

Not that he would actually go that far...even if she was admittedly 'cute'. It was just a possibility. A naïve girl like her, with a boy as shady as him. Surely people would assume that should they see them together at the moment. Or assume that they were a couple. They would surely think that before he makes them go through a horrendous fate for even assuming something like that.

...She was different. She was unlike the several hundred; thousands of humans that treated him like dirt or a freak. And that got on his nerves.

But not as much as the two eavesdroppers.

"So, care to get out from those bushes, you two pieces of shit?" Nate snarled at a bush away from them.

The bush shook, before Rosa and Hugh slowly emerged from it.

"H-How did you know...?" Rosa asked.

"Please, I could tell that you two were there from a mile away," Nate scoffed.

"More importantly, who's this?" Rosa asked, pointing to the girl.

"And why the hell do you care all of a sudden?" Nate asked.

"Well, I mean you're with a girl," Rosa said. "...That's kind of a thing we never expect from you. So who is she? You didn't deceive her, did you?"

"He did not deceive me!" Yancy suddenly yelled at Rosa. "He saved me from sexual harassment and helped me catch a Pokémon!"

Rosa and Hugh glanced at Nate curiously for an answer.

"Long story," Nate muttered.

"Well, regardless," Hugh said. "We still found it surprising that you were with a girl, and curiosity got the better of is."

"Well at least you're honest," Nate said.

"YANCY!"

* * *

Everyone looked around, until they saw a girl with white hair and a purple dress rushing up to them.

"Roxie?" Yancy asked.

"You're friends with the city's gym leader?" Hugh asked.

"Yeah," Yancy said.

"There you are!" Roxie sighed. "You had me worried, y'know. You disappeared when I was dealing with my dad."

"Oh right...sorry..." Yancy said uneasily. "But I wanted to visit the complex before I left, and you seemed to be in a bad mood."

"Oh...Sorry..." Roxie said uneasily as well, rubbing the back of her head. "It's just that my idiot dad ran off to the studios and leaving his duties as captain. He's causing a lot of trouble, y'know?"

"I see," Yancy said.

Roxie then took notice to the trio, before glancing back at Yancy.

"And who're these three?" Roxie asked her.

"Oh, this is Nate," Yancy introduced the boy to her. "And these are his friends, Hugh and...Rosa."

Roxie glanced to the three.

"Hm..." Roxie muttered, examining the three. "I see...so you're the three noobs from Aspertia...well two noobs and a maverick."

"Who're you calling a 'noob'!?" Rosa yelled.

"And how do you know us...?" Hugh asked.

"Cheren told me about you three," Roxie explained. "Two rookie trainers...and an irregular trainer working to complete the pokédex. He said you three would show up to Virbank soon."

"Well there goes the element of surprise," Nate muttered.

"So? You three planning on challenging the Virbank Gym?" Roxie asked.

"Of course!" Rosa proclaimed.

"That's what we came here for," Hugh said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa there," Nate interjected. "Whoever said I wanted to take part in gym battles?"

"Huh?" Roxie asked. "Well you did beat Cheren, right? And at Challenge Mode at that."

"Yeah, but first of all, I only fought Cowlick so that he wouldn't call the cops on me," Nate said. "And second of all, I don't even care about the gym battles anyways."

"-Wait, but Boss!-" Tep argued. "-I wanna partake in a Gym Battle!-"

"Heh?" Nate asked, looking down to Tep. "You wanna fight?"

"-Of course, Boss!-" Tep exclaimed. "-I wanna prove myself in battle, and what's a better opportunity than a gym battle?-"

"I guess..." Nate muttered. "But I really don't have any obligations to continue this shit, and there're other ways to get stronger..."

"Uh..." Yancy made herself known to them.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Nate asked.

"I...kinda want to watch your gym battle too..." Yancy said timidly.

Nate looked slightly surprised at Yancy's request, as the pink-haired girl hid her expression under her hat again.

"What's the matter, scared?" Rosa asked smugly.

"No he's not!" Yancy suddenly yelled at Rosa, before cowering back under her hat. "S-Sorry..."

"...Weird..." Nate muttered, before Hugh got his attention.

"C'mon, it wouldn't hurt," Hugh reasoned. "Besides, while you are right in that there are other ways to get stronger besides partaking in gym battles; that can also mean that a gym battle would be much more effective than other means."

Nate looked slightly conflicted. The spikehead did have a point. Battling a trainer with a high amount of skill, such as gym leaders, would certainly improve his overall skills and his team's skills much more efficiently than compared to sparring against wild Pokémon. The higher the rank, the more likely that they would push him; more specifically Luca; to her limits.

"...Tch fine," Nate muttered, giving in.

"Good," Roxie said. "Why don't you guys visit my gym tonight? Use the time to prepare beforehand."

"Fair enough," Hugh said. "We should at least head to the pokécenter and heal up everyone."

With everyone in agreement, they all headed back to the pokécenter to heal up those who got wounded in their own runs. As Nate blankly headed back, Rosa got besides him, close enough for whispering levels.

"Being serious though, who is this girl?" Rosa asked Nate.

"Beats me," Nate whispered back. "I just found her getting harassed by a bunch of construction workers and scared them off."

"Hmph...Typical men," Rosa grumbled. "Greedy pigs, the lot of them."

"Hey, I'm right here," Nate said.

"You're greedy in the sense that you want free food and money," Rosa shot back.

"Point taken," Nate shrugged. "What about Hugh though?"

"Oh he's greedy for something, alright," Rosa muttered.

"And that would be?" Nate asked, earning silence. "Seriously, what the hell's his problem? Sure he acts civil most of the time, but whenever Plasma gets introduced into the mix, he loses a gasket and completely goes berserk. We're stuck travelling together for a while, so might as well let me in on his problem. Even a little hint."

Rosa had a rather difficult look on her face, before sighing.

"I'll tell you later," Rosa muttered.

Nate eyed Rosa, before eyeing Hugh and staring at him. He failed to notice that Yancy was beside him, so when he glanced besides him, he got startled.

"Gah!? What the–?!" Nate blurted. "Uh, can I help you?"

"I-I'm looking forward to see your battle," Yancy mumbled. "G-Good luck."

"Uh..." Nate said, somewhat uneasily. "Okay..."

"C'mon, Yancy!" Roxie called out.

"Ah! Coming!" Yancy called back. "I'll see you tonight, Nate."

"Sure," Nate said.

Yancy smiled at him, before rushing over to Roxie, as the two headed back to where he would assume to be the direction to the gym.

"Seriously, what did you do to her?" Rosa asked.

"I did nothing," Nate grumbled. "Jesus Christ, woman, you're acting like I conned her or something."

"Considering that you're a thief, I still have my suspicions," Rosa muttered.

"Well at least you're honest," Nate rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, you two! Hurry up!" Hugh called out.

"Hold on!" Rosa yelled. "C'mon."

Nate shrugged as Rosa went ahead. The boy followed after her, until he noticed something on the ground.

"The hell?" Nate murmured as he picked it up.

It appeared to be an Xtransceiver. A really old model from what he could tell. Nate was never really good with technology. Hell, he spent an all-nighter learning how to use an Xtransceiver and the pokédex at Cowlick's place.

What was something like this doing here? Perhaps someone dropped it? It looked pretty old, so he doubted that it would sell for much.

"Nate!" Rosa called out.

Nate looked up, before shoving the old Xtransceiver in his bag and followed Rosa.

* * *

Once they reached the pokécenter, the trio healed up their Pokémon, before gathering up at the lobby.

"So what did you two get?" Nate asked.

"Curious, are we?" Rosa smirked.

"Hopefully you two actually took my advice and caught a Fire-type," Nate said.

The two took out their pokéball and released their new captures; Growlithe for Rosa, and Magby for Hugh.

"Meet my new addition, Nina!" Rosa said proudly.

"Nina...?" Nate asked.

"Y'know, since she evolves into an arcanine..." Rosa said.

"Oh, I get it," Nate said. "...Well at least you tried."

Growlithe, or Nina, alongside Magby, looked towards the new boy, as he took out a pokéball and released a rather aggressive-looking elekid.

"Did I give you a nickname yet?" Nate asked Elekid.

"-Nope,-" Elekid shook his head.

"Alright then..." Nate mumbled. "...Alright, 'Kid' it is."

"-Really?-" Elekid, or 'Kid', asked incredulously. "-That's the best you can come up with?-"

"Hey it's simple," Nate retorted. "Don't ask me for creative nicknames. I prefer short, simple, and to the point. Don't worry, I'll change it once you evolve."

"-Fair enough,-" Kid shrugged.

"You caught an elekid?" Hugh asked.

"-You can talk to Pokémon?-" Magby asked Nate.

"Yes, and yes," Nate answered them. "Hm...A magby huh...that's a pretty good choice, considering your playstyle."

"-Keh, these guys don't look so tough,-" Kid scoffed.

"-Oh yeah!?-" Magby growled. "-Why don't we show you otherwise!?-"

Kid suddenly thrusted his fist at Magby, inches away from hitting his mouth, where an icy aura began to cover his fist.

"-I'm game,-" Kid smirked.

"Your elekid knows Ice Punch?!" Rosa gasped.

"Yeah, you can see why I caught him," Nate smirked as he took out his remaining pokéballs and released Tep and Luca. "Kid, you know Tep. Meet Luca. She's your boss whenever I have to do something else."

Kid eyed Luca critically, before nodding. He could sense the power within Luca. He knew he wouldn't stand a chance fighting her as he is now.

"-Nice to meet you, lady,-" Kid said.

"-Likewise,-" Luca greeted Kid. "-Hopefully we can get along. Nate's such a hassle to deal with, so I'm glad I have another hand to help.-"

"What're you, my mom?" Nate asked irritably.

"-Might as well be, considering how many times you throw yourself into a stupid and/or dangerous situation,-" Luca sighed.

"Shaddup," Nate grumbled.

"-Wow, you can speak to us?-" Nina asked Nate.

"Yes," Nate said. "Now then, why don't you go talk to the otter that I'm pretty sure beat you up."

"You don't have to say it like that," Rosa muttered as she released Eve and Ottavia.

"-Hi there, friend!-" Eve barked to Nina. "-I'm Eve! Nice to meet you!-"

"-Hi there!-" Nina barked to Eve. "-I'm Nina! Likewise!-"

"-Uh...hi...-" Ottavia said timidly. "-Sorry for beating you up there...-"

"-Ah, it's alright,-" Nina said. "-You were pretty good out there!-"

"-Th-thanks,-" Ottavia mumbled.

Meanwhile, Hugh released Vibrava and Snivy to join up with Magby.

"-So you're a new member, huh,-" Vibrava said. "-Well, nice to meet you.-"

"-Likewise,-" Magby greeted Vibrava, before turning to Snivy. "-You were pretty good out there. But don't think that makes you better than me! I'll beat you for sure!-"

Snivy glanced at Magby, and nodded in response, grinning at the Fire-type.

"Alright then, it's almost time to head to the gym," Nate muttered. "Might as well go."

"Hey, what about something to eat?" Rosa asked.

"Huh?" Nate asked.

"I mean, you can't fight with an empty stomach," Rosa said.

As if on cue, Nate's stomach growled.

"Ah..." Nate muttered, his face flushing in red with embarrassment, which led to the others snickering and chuckling at his expense. "Shut the hell up. Fine we'll eat and then go to the gym."

* * *

After the group had something to eat at the café and decided on who had to pay (via rock-paper-scissors), Rosa begrudgingly paid for the meals with the grace of a sore loser, before they all headed for the gym.

"If the map's right, then it should be here..." Rosa said, "But..."

The trio was in front of a small, unsuspecting and rather dirty-looking building, supposedly the city's gym. The only thing that's indicating that it's the gym is the Unova's Pokémon League sign adorned on the building.

"Is this really the gym?" Hugh asked.

"I guess..." Rosa muttered.

Nate stared at the door, before opening it. There was a staircase that led way down into the underground. Seeing no other option, they went down the stairs, where they were met with two steel doors, with Yancy sitting behind a desk.

"Ah, Nate!" the girl happily said.

"Oh, it's you," Nate said. "Uh...Yancy, right?"

"Uh huh," Yancy said. "So you three are here to challenge Roxie?"

"That's the plan," Hugh said.

Behind the metal doors, faint music could be heard.

"So what's the challenge, anyways?" Rosa asked. "I mean, usually the gyms have some kind of gimmick."

"Well, yes, Roxie's gym does have a gimmick," Yancy said. "Although...I suggest you cover your ears."

"Huh?" the three asked.

Covering her ears, she gestured one of them to open the doors. Confused, Nate volunteered and pried the steel doors open.

" **D-O-G-A-R-S DOGARS!** "

Violent levels of music blasted through the doors, and pierced their ears.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH WHAT THE FUCK!?" Nate screamed as he held his ears in pain.

They looked to see Roxie, rocking it out on her guitar with her band, blasting the music throughout the gym. She was so focused on playing her music that she failed to notice the group come in, or the fact that they're in excruciating pain.

"Yeah...she tends to not know the term 'volume control'," Yancy groaned.

"What're we supposed to do!?" Rosa yelled.

"Get her to stop playing!" Yancy yelled back.

"I wouldn't really call that a 'gimmick'..." Hugh grumbled. "How do we even stop her?"

Nate looked around, until he found a steel rod. He proceeded to pick up said rod, and slam it on a table, breaking it in half while making a very loud sound from it; loud enough to catch Roxie's attention.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell?!" Roxie yelled as she and her band stopped.

"Finally you stop playing," Nate sighed. "Oh God, I think my ears are bleeding."

"That's an overstatement," Hugh said.

Roxie got down from her podium and recognized the group.

"Oh, it's you guys," Roxie said. "You here for the challenge?"

"Yes," Rosa said. "Challenge Mod please!"

"You're way over your head on this one..." Hugh sighed. "What are the rules?"

"Hm...Well since there's three of you...and I still have to get my moronic dad from Pokéstar Studios," Roxie mumbled. "How about this? A three v three. But you all take turns fighting me only using one mon, while I can use three; one for each of you. If your side manages to score two wins, then you all win and get a badge. Deal?"

"Sounds fair," Nate muttered.

"Great," Roxie said. "So? Who's going first?"

"Me!" Rosa yelled enthusiastically.

"Alright Bunhead," Roxie said, earning her the ire of Rosa from that irritable nickname. "Get on the other side of the field."

Rosa looked around, and noticed the chalk lining of a battle filed on the large floor, and got to one side, while Roxie got to the other.

"One Pokémon, huh," Rosa said, before taking out a pokéball. "This outta be good. Ottavia!"

Rosa released Ottavia, who landed on the field. Smirking, Roxie threw a pokéball, where from it came out a floating spherical Pokémon with vacant eyes, a wide mouth, and a cream-colored skull-and-crossbones marking on it.

"Koffing, the poison gas Pokémon," Rosa's pokédex told her as she scanned it. "Toxic gas is held within its thin, balloon-shaped body, so it can cause massive explosions."

"Alright, this is a gym battle, Ottavia!" Rosa called out. "Give it all you've got!"

Ottavia nervously nodded as she braced herself.

"Get ready!" Roxie roared. "I'm gonna knock some sense outta ya!"

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN:** And that outta be a good place to stop. Next chapter is obviously gonna be their gym battle with Roxie. For this chapter, it was basically the Virbank Complex; the biggest change being that I introduced Yancy MUCH earlier than she should appear in-game. Does that mean a certain side-quest is null and void? Not exactly...

And here's some interaction with Nate and Yancy (how's that Transceivershippers?) and some insight on why I kept Hugh's Snivy a mute this entire time while virtually every other Pokemon said something. And Rosa catches herself a growlithe, Hugh a magby, and Nate an elekid.

And with that, I can finally update this thing:

Current Team Roster:

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Tep (Tepig) / Kid (Elekid)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Oshawott) / Nina (Growlithe)

Hugh: Vibrava / Snivy / Magby

Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the chapter, tell me what you think of this new change in plot, and as always, look forward to the next chapter. See ya next time!


	6. 06: Rock On! Action!

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 6: Rock On and Action!**

* * *

 **AN:** And welcome back to Pride of Your Soul! Here's chapter 6!

But first, few things. Since I got a lot more reviews back in the last chapter than I normally do on these (giving the prequel an updated epilogue might have helped), I decided to actually respond to them and NOT act like a robot:

 **xQEAx:** thanks! The main shipping is still up in the air though, since now that I written the transceivershipping, I'm conflicted to decide whom I should pair Nate off to.

 **Guest (who I addressed the not-rant to in the last chapter)** : no harm done. I'm glad you understand.

 **Guest (asking me to do more frequent updates with shorter chapters)** : yeah, while I understand what you're asking for, and I understand why, honestly I can't see myself writing anything as short as 2-3K words anymore. And I still have lots of things to do outside of this, so I highly doubt that I can update quickly. Especially with college coming soon. Sorry about that :/

 **Blackhawk36** : Well at least I'm glad you liked the transceivershipping, even if you prefer visorshipping. And in due time, Hugh will spill the beans of his past to Nate.

 **I. M. Poik** : Glad you liked the transceivershipping in the last chapter. Sorry but, considering how updating speed goes for me, it may take a while, depending on how much life decides to be a dick to me. Hopefully you understand. Perhaps, I'll have Rosa meet Curtis in the near future.

 **Anthony627AA:** Thanks. Hopefully the gym battle is worth the wait :)

 **Defender31415:** Don't worry, Nate's attitude will improve SLOWLY over time. Nope those cryogonals aren't with Old Team Plasma, and yep Roxie's alliterative skills are still on point. Thanks for the support :)

 **flashyhero:** I'm glad you still like the way I write, and welcome back from CoYS!

 **Knight of Wings:** Welp, you're gonna have to wait in the future to confirm your theory. Although I will just say, that you're pretty close; a lot closer than the others. And Snivy said something in the first chapter...?

...Oh crap. I'll probably go edit that out by the time this gets updated. Thanks for letting me know. And thanks for your feedback.

...Y'know this is a lot more fun than I thought it'd be. It lets me interact with you guys. I should do this more often if there're people to respond to. Then maybe people will think that I'm not a robot :)

Anyways, let's move on!

* * *

"Ottavia! Water Gun!"

"Counter with Smog!"

Ottavia immediately shot a spray of water at Koffing, who avoided it and emitted a poisonous gas at Ottavia.

"Blow it away with Razor Shell!" Rosa quickly commanded.

Ottavia detached her shell, where a blue blade formed from it, and furiously swiped the gas away.

"Now, Assurance!"

As Ottavia was fanning the gas away, Koffing rammed into Ottavia, tackling her into the ground.

"-Agh!-" Ottavia cried in pain.

"Ottavia!" Rosa cried.

The otter managed to get back up, as Koffing floated above her with a smug grin.

"Shoot it down with Water Gun!"

Ottavia shot another spray of water at Koffing, who avoided it yet again.

"She's too simplistic..." Nate groaned from the sidelines as Koffing kept avoiding Ottavia with great ease.

"Rosa needs to pull something off and think outside the box," Hugh commented. "At this rate, she's Roxie's plaything."

Ottavia jumped out of the way to avoid a smog from Koffing, although she couldn't do much, since all of her attack thus far haven't hit the damn thing at all.

"I need to think of something," Rosa muttered.

"Koffing, Shadow Ball!" Roxie commanded.

Koffing shot a shadowy orb at Ottavia, who jumped out of the way. Rosa glared at Koffing, before noticing something as the Koffing kept shooting Shadow Balls at Ottavia.

' _This is just like that training Nate forced me into at the ranch...'_ Rosa thought. _'...That's it!'_

"Ottavia, charge in with Razor Shell!"

Ottavia brandished her blade as she charged at Koffing, who was more or less taunting her now.

"Another reckless charge, huh?" Roxie sighed. "Alright, shoot it down with Shadow Ball!"

Koffing complied and shot another Shadow Ball at Ottavia.

"Dodge to your right and don't stop!" Rosa commanded. "Watch where it'll shoot a Shadow Ball and avoid it!"

Ottavia jumped to her right, avoiding the Shadow Ball, while continuing to charge at the gas ball.

"Wait...is she...?" Hugh muttered.

"Well I'll be damned," Nate grinned. "She's actually using her head."

Koffing started to panic a little and kept shooting Shadow Balls recklessly, as Ottavia continued to avoid them, gaining more distance between them.

As Koffing shot a Shadow Ball straight at Ottavia, the otter jumped over it, now falling towards Koffing and slammed her blade into the ball, smacking it down to the ground.

"-GUEH!-" Koffing gagged as he was cemented into the ground.

"-I–I did it!-" Ottavia stammered, shocked that she managed to land a hit.

"Now, Water Gun while it's down!" Rosa exclaimed.

Ottavia got out of her stupor and shot a Water Gun at Koffing as it tried to ascend to the air, shooting it down.

"It's working!" Rosa smirked, her confidence rising. "I knew we could take on Challenge Mode! Now! Finish it off with Razor Shell!"

Her confidence rising as well, Ottavia brandished her shell, creating the blue blade, and charged at Koffing while it was down for the finishing blow.

"Not so fast!" Roxie yelled. "Koffing! Explosion!"

"WHAT?!" Rosa and the boys gasped.

Koffing began to pile energy into himself as he began to glow brightly.

"Oh no! Ottavia get back!" Rosa cried.

"-H–Huh?!-" Ottavia blurted.

Ottavia stopped her attack, but she was too close to Koffing, as it glowed white, before violently exploding, blasting Ottavia in the explosion.

"-AAAAAGH!?-" Ottavia screamed in pain as she flew back.

"OTTAVIA!" Rosa cried out, blinded by the light Explosion gave off.

Everyone else shielded their eyes and defended themselves from the explosion. Once the explosion died down, the battle field was charred by the explosion, with Koffing down on the field completely unconscious from blowing itself up, and Ottavia embedded into the wall, knocked out an unable to battle.

* * *

"Ottavia!" Rosa cried as she rushed over to help her get out.

"Holy crap," Nate muttered. "Didn't think the chick would actually use that move as a last resort."

"And Rosa was looking good in winning too..." Hugh muttered.

"I-Is everyone alright?" Yancy asked.

"Is she okay with blowing up her own Pokémon in her own gym?" Nate asked Yancy.

"Hahaha! I don't really care!" Roxie replied. "We were gonna go down anyways, so might as well go out with a bang!"

Roxie kneeled down to Koffing, taking out its pokéball.

"Great job out there," Roxie said as she recalled her Pokémon. "Sorry for making ya do that."

"Ottavia..." Rosa said sadly at Ottavia's defeated figure. "You did great. I'm sorry for failing you."

Rosa recalled her oshawott, as Roxie took out another pokéball.

"Well, since we both fainted, and I blew myself up, I'll call this a draw," Roxie informed them.

"So do we get a point or...?" Nate asked.

"No, no one gets a point," Roxie said as she released a Pokémon with the appearance of a giant pile of trash spilling out of a large, torn, garbage bag. "So? Who's next?"

"Damn it," Nate muttered.

"I'll go," Hugh declared, stepping up to the field as Rosa retreated to the group.

"Aw..." Yancy sighed quietly, disappointed that she couldn't get to see Nate fight sooner.

Nate, meanwhile, patted Rosa on the back.

"If it makes you feel better, then you did pretty well against a gym leader on Challenge," Nate did his best (?) to comfort the girl.

"Thanks..." Rosa muttered, unable to look up to him out of humiliation.

"C'mon, you only got one badge and you managed to force the gym leader into a corner where she had to blow her own Pokémon up," Nate said. "If anything, that's pretty impressive."

Rosa looked up to Nate, somewhat shocked. The boy actually complimented her. She didn't know why, but hearing that actually made her feel better; not fueling her pride, but actually made her feel good.

"Thanks," Rosa said genuinely. "Y'know, you can be a pretty nice guy when you want to be."

"Don't push it," Nate muttered. "You still acted pretty noobish during the beginning, bunhead."

"Hey! I managed to pull through, somewhat!" Rosa shot back.

Leave it to Nate to instantly dampen her mood immediately after he compliments her. Although, she didn't mind too much; he did have a point, although she would never admit it.

As the two began to bicker, Yancy watched, and couldn't help but feel a little irritated. Mostly at Rosa, for arguing with Nate. Meanwhile Nate, despite arguing with Rosa, was smirking the whole time, and seemed to be enjoying picking on Rosa.

Come to think of it, she accused Nate of deceiving her when they first met; an accusation that was ridiculous, and wrong of the bunheaded girl to accuse Nate of. And Nate obviously seemed irritated that Rosa was spying on them in the first place, not to mention he didn't really think of Rosa too highly.

She didn't know why, but that sparked something within her. She couldn't help but eye Rosa with envy. Nate supposedly didn't like Rosa and likewise, yet here they are, bickering like friends. They seemed too close for comfort, and Yancy couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy about that.

* * *

Hugh was glancing back at the bickering, and rolled his eyes, before shifting his attention back to Roxie. He took out his pokédex and scanned the giant Poison-type.

"Garbodor, the trash heap Pokémon," it read. "Consuming garbage makes new kinds of poison gases and liquids inside their bodies."

"How appealing," Hugh said sarcastically.

While Vibrava was the obvious choice here, Hugh instead sent out Snivy.

"Well, since Rosa used Ottavia, and I'm sure as hell Tep is going to be sent out," Hugh said. "Might as well go with the trend."

"Sending out a Grass-type against a Poison-type?!" Roxie exclaimed. "You got guts! I like that!"

Garbodor leered down upon Snivy, who calmly leered back, unfazed by the giant Poison-type, nor the type disadvantage he was in.

"Let's start things off, Garbodor! Toxic Spikes!"

Garbodor spat out several purple spikes that scattered across the field.

"What the hell?" Hugh muttered as Garbodor spewed out a second layer that seemingly combined with the first layer.

"Great, she's using Toxic Spikes," Nate groaned.

"Uh...what do those do?" Yancy asked.

"Toxic Spikes are ground-based entry hazards that poison a grounded Pokémon upon entering he field," Nate explained. "With two stacked, the poison inflicted on the next Pokémon is that equivalent to Toxic."

"So...Snivy's okay?" Yancy asked.

"Until Snivy steps on one of the spikes," Nate muttered, glancing at Tep's pokéball. "Tch...Damn it, she's specifically targeting me."

Snivy eyed the purple spikes that were scattered across the field. He mentally swore to himself, realizing that his movements would be limited now.

"Gunk Shot!" Roxie yelled without warning.

Garbodor brought the end of its limbs together, forming a giant purple cluster, before hurling it at Snivy.

"Dodge it and follow up with Leech Seed!" Hugh quickly commanded.

Snivy jumped to the side, avoiding the Gunk Shot, and shot several seeds at Garbodor. The seeds latched onto the garbage monster's body and began to sprout, latching onto Garbodor with the roots and slowly sapping at its health.

"At least we're dealing some consecutive damage," Hugh muttered.

"Rock Blast!"

Garbodor began to shoot rocks from its mouth, shooting at Snivy. Snivy ran across the field, avoiding the rocks that were being shot at him while also avoiding the spikes that were on them.

"Vine Whip!"

Snivy lunged at Garbodor and slammed his vines against Garbodor, but his vines simply bounced off his body rather pathetically.

"Hah! You think a weak Grass move like that'll do anything to Garbodor?!" Roxie mocked.

Hugh clicked his tongue in frustration, as Snivy kept avoiding Garbodor's rocks and gunk. Fortunately for him, the Leech Seed were doing reliable passive damage, while healing Snivy from any grazes or attacks that manage to hit him. Unfortunately for him, Leech Seed seems to be his only form of any actual damage to the Poison-type, and Snivy was starting to get weary of stalling, considering that Garbodor kept letting out dangerously potent attacks, and Snivy wasn't exactly a wall.

"Tch! Let's change things up, Drain Punch!" Roxie yelled.

Garbodor reeled his arm back, and shot it at Snivy, stretching out like a rubber band. Snivy was about to avoid it, but a toxic spike was in his way, and he accidently stepped on it, getting badly poisoned while getting hit by the Drain Punch.

"Snivy!" Hugh cried as Snivy got shot into the wall.

The grass snake managed to get out and recover, but didn't look so good.

"Damn it...he must've been poisoned..." Hugh swore. This would make things a lot harder than they needed to be.

"Badly poisoned on top of it," Nate mused. "You're on a timer now! I dunno how, but try to end it before things go awry!"

"I know that!" Hugh shot back.

Easier said than done. With an obvious type disadvantage, size and power disadvantage, and now Snivy was badly poisoned, so the poison would worsen overtime if Hugh didn't do anything about it. As Hugh watched Snivy avoid another attack, Hugh's glance to notice of some of the chairs, the table that Nate broke earlier, and one of the lights on the ceiling. Inspiration decided to kick in from there.

"...Hey Roxie!" Hugh called out. "Is it alright if we use our surroundings?!"

"Huh?" Roxie asked, somewhat confused. "Sure...?"

Hugh grinned. There was still hope.

"Snivy! Rotate rapidly on the ground with Vine Whip!" Hugh quickly commanded.

Snivy nodded as he began to spin swiftly with his vines out, shooting whatever spikes he managed to hit back at Garbodor. The spikes, upon contact, were absorbed by Garbodor.

"Those won't work!" Roxie yelled. "Poison-types absorb Toxic Spikes!"

"What's Hugh doing?" Rosa asked. "He should know that!"

"Now, Leaf Tornado!"

Without stopping, Snivy created a tornado of leaves and shot it at Garbodor, who defended himself from it.

"Now, grab one of the chairs!" Hugh commanded.

Snivy's eyes widened slightly, but understood what his trainer was going for. With less spikes to worry about, Snivy darted for one of the chairs, grabbing the hind legs with his vines, before darting towards Garbodor.

"What?!" Roxie gasped.

"Let him have it!" Hugh roared.

With all of his strength, Snivy slammed the chair at Garbodor, smashing him right on the head.

"-GUOGH!?-" Garbodor gagged as he felt the pain of the chair.

"What the–?!" Rosa blurted.

"Well now," Nate smirked, impressed by Hugh's resourcefulness.

Snivy spun around to gain momentum, before smashing the chair into Garbodor's head again, before slamming it on top of his head, reducing it into metal and splinters.

"Why you little–!" Roxie snarled as Garbodor roared in frustration.

"Now, trip him and grab one of the lights!" Hugh yelled.

As Garbodor tried to get Snivy, the small snake avoided him, shot his vines and wrapped them around Garbodor's feet, and yanked with all his might, tripping the giant and making him fall. Snivy then jumped onto Garbodor's gut, and bounced off like a trampoline, heading for one of the lights.

"Oh no you don't!" Roxie yelled. "Drain Punch!"

Hugh smirked as Garbodor shot one of his arms at Snivy. All according to plan.

"Now, dodge!" Hugh yelled.

Snivy smirked as he jumped out of the way at the last second, leaving Garbodor's arm to smash into the light.

"Crap!" Roxie blurted, as the broke light ended up electrocuting Garbodor.

The Poison-type cried out in pain as he was being fried by the electrical lighting, before Snivy decided to free him from the electrocution by smashing another chair into his arm, sending it to the ground and sparing him from further electrocution. However, Garbodor was electrocuted for too long, and was unable to battle.

* * *

"Nice job, Snivy!" Hugh congratulated his snake, who smiled somewhat coolly, despite panting.

"That was some resourceful thinking on your part," Nate said, walking up to them.

"Well, I couldn't beat that thing with brute force alone," Hugh said. "By the way, sorry. I couldn't clear all of the spikes."

Nate's eyes widened slightly, before noticing that the field had less spikes now. So Hugh was also aiming for this. Not bad, for a rookie.

"Heh, at least Tep won't get badly poisoned," Nate said. "You did good enough, Matis. You managed to score a win too."

Hugh's eyes widened slightly, as Nate took the field and Hugh left. Did he just call him by his name? His last name, but he still referred to him by name, and not a weird nickname like Rosa or Cheren.

"Did he just call you by name?" Rosa asked Hugh, noticing that as well.

"Yeah..." Hugh said. "I guess he was impressed with me to warrant that."

"Oh come on!" Rosa pouted. "You don't have a stupid nickname, while I'm stuck with 'bunhead'!"

"Looks like you'll have to do better," Hugh joked.

"Oh can it, 'Spikehead'!" Rosa shot back.

Yancy, meanwhile, was currently ignoring the two in favor of Nate as he walked onto the battlefield. Finally, she got to see him in a gym battle! She could hardly contain her excitement as Nate sent out the familiar Tep to the field. Yancy felt kind of bad for rooting against her friend, but she really wanted to see Nate win. She was sure Roxie would forgive her anyways, should she actually learn that her friend was rooting against her.

* * *

"You okay there?" Nate asked, noting how Tep was unable to avoid landing on one of the spikes.

"Y-yeah..." Tep muttered, panting slightly.

"Hang on," Nate muttered, kneeling down to him.

Roxie, meanwhile, recalled her garbodor, thanking him for a nice battle, before sending out her last Pokémon; a giant centipede-like Pokémon that was standing with the front half of its body raised vertically off the ground.

"Giant bug, much?" Nate muttered as he was finished, letting Tep face the battlefield, and scanning the goliath with his pokédex.

"Scolipede, the megapede Pokémon," it read. "It clasps its prey with the claws on its neck until it stops moving. Then it finishes it off with deadly poison."

"I'm pretty impressed with your friends," Roxie said. "They're a lot better than I thought initially."

"I'd use the term 'friends' lightly, but thanks," Nate said. "I am acting as babysitter, so I'll be damned if they didn't improve."

"Now then," Roxie smirked dangerously. "Scolipede here is my ace in the hole! Let's see how you fare against him, and how he fares against the obvious veteran of the group!"

"With pleasure!" Nate snarled. "Tep, Flame Charge!"

"Meet that with Megahorn!" Roxie snarled.

Tep surrounded himself in flames as he charged at Scolipede, who turned the two curved antenna-like horns into two long spears. The two collided, but Scolipede was able to overpower Tep, and send him back.

Tep flew back, but managed to land on his feet.

"Ember!"

Tep shot several embers at Scolipede from his nose, managing to land a hit and do some decent damage to the goliath bug.

"Earthquake!"

"Holy–Tep, jump into the air!"

Scolipede raised its front legs and slammed them into the field, causing a roaring earthquake. Tep, fortunately, was able to jump into the air and avoided it. Everyone else, wasn't so lucky, as they had to hug the wall to keep their balance, while Nate had to keep his balance on his own.

"Oh great, we have the type advantage, but the stupid bug can one-shot us!" Nate grumbled.

"-I can take it Boss!-" Tep assured him.

"Didn't we have a talk about knowing your limits yesterday or the day before?" Nate asked rhetorically.

"Rock Slide!"

Scolipede formed a rock in between his horns and hurled it into the air, causing a shower of rocks to fall onto the pig.

"Oh come on!" Nate yelled. "Flame Charge!"

Tep surrounded himself in flames, boosting his speed and dodging as many rocks as he can. Unfortunately, he ended up getting crushed by some strays, and halted his attacked.

"Don't let up!" Nate ordered. "Shoot Embers at it while going for a Flame Charge!"

Tep nodded, as he reignited the flames and charged straight for Scolipede, while shooting several embers at Scolipede in rapid succession.

"Megahorn!"

Withstanding the embers, Scolipede formed two spear-like horns and attacked Tep. Thankfully, with his newly boosted speed, Tep was able to avoid the attack, and slammed into Scolipede, pushing the bug back.

"Scolipede!" Roxie exclaimed in worry.

Scolipede managed to regain its balance, and nodded to Roxie, seemingly telling her that he was okay.

"Yeah! Go Nate!" Yancy cheered for him.

"Who's side are you on!?" Roxie yelled, shocked that her friend would cheer against her.

"While you're still close, Rock Smash!" Nate yelled.

Tep reeled his tail and smashed it into Scolipede's head, but the megapede was able to overpower Tep and fling him into the air.

"Tep!" Nate cried.

"Now! Earthquake as he lands!" Roxie yelled.

As Tep crashed into the ground, Scolipede rose its legs and smashed them into the ground, causing another earthquake. This time, however, Tep couldn't avoid it, and was smacked by faulting plates of the field. Once the earthquake was over, Tep struggled to get back onto his feet, panting heavily.

"Oh, that's one sturdy pig you got there," Roxie commented. "But how about we end it! Venoshock!"

Scolipede roared as poisonous liquid burst out from it, blasting in all directions. Tep couldn't dodge the attack, and found himself getting pelted by the venomous liquid. Rosa and Hugh had to duck to avoid the Venoshock.

"Yancy look out!" Rosa yelled, seeing some of the Venoshock go for her.

Yancy snapped out of her stupor to see the attack homing in on her. Nate saw that, and bolted for her while taking out his knives. The boy managed to get in fast enough to intercept the Venoshock with his knife, while slashing down any other attacks with them.

"N-Nate..." Yancy stuttered.

"You alright?" Nate asked.

Yancy simply nodded dumbly, while Nate glared at Roxie.

"Yo what the hell!?" Nate yelled. "That could've hurt the audience y'know!"

"Sh-Shut up!" Roxie yelled uneasily, clearly having not thought that through.

Nate rolled his eyes and groaned, while checking up on where Tep was.

"Venoshock is a Poison-type move that gets doubled power if the target is poisoned..." Roxie muttered. "After all that, a boosted Venoshock will definitely take out that tepig."

"That Venoshock should be weaker now..." Nate muttered to himself.

As the smoke cleared, to everyone's surprise, and Nate's relief, Tep was still standing, albeit barely.

"What?!" Roxie gasped. "But how!? Tepig was badly poisoned, and took an earthquake and a boosted venoshock!"

Tep then decided to spit out a leaf from his mouth, as he smirked.

"What the...?" Roxie muttered, until she recognized said leaf. "A pecha leaf...a pecha berry?!"

"I had Tep hold it before the fight," Nate smirked. "And he decided to use it upon starting."

Roxie gritted her teeth, and was about to command Scolipede to use another earthquake, but Scolipede suddenly fell to one leg.

"What?! Scolipede?!" Roxie asked, before noticing a burn spot on the bug. "He's burned?!"

"I knew spamming Ember was a good idea," Nate smirked.

As Tep glared at Scolipede, a fiery red aura surrounded the pig.

"What's going on...?" Rosa asked.

"Tep's ability, 'Blaze'," Nate mused. "When his health is depleted, Fire-type attacks get boosted...Alright! Let's finish this off! Flame Charge! Aim for the head!"

Tep surrounded himself in flames once more, but the flames were now more intense. The pig shot at Scolipede like a burning bullet, the bug unable to stop it due to the blinding speed, and ended up getting nailed in the head hard by Tep's Flame Charge. The force was enough to flip Scolipede over, while bouncing Tep back. The goliath centipede fell to the ground, unable to battle any further.

"And that's that," Nate said.

* * *

"-ALRIGHT! WE WON!-" Tep roared. "-That'll teach you to mess with the Boss!-"

"Haha, aren't we happy," Nate chuckled at Tep's victory cry.

"Nice job," Hugh said to Nate.

"As expected of you, at least," Rosa said with a smile.

Nate simply shrugged as he recalled Tep.

"Curious though," Rosa said. "When did you give Tep a pecha berry?"

"Right before we started our battle," Nate explained. "I mean, there were no rules about using hold items, right?"

"Yeah," Roxie laughed as she comforted Scolipede and recalled him to his pokéball. "I should've seen that one coming."

Nate then glanced at Yancy, who approached him rather timidly.

"Well?" Nate asked. "You did ask to see me fight? How was it?"

"It was amazing!" Yancy replied. "You really are a strong trainer!"

"Eh, I did have the type-match up at least," Nate shrugged. "Not to mention lady luck decided to help me out a few times."

"You mean like the burn from Ember, or the defense drop from Rock Smash?" Hugh asked.

"Oh so you noticed the Rock Smash," Nate commented.

"That would be the only reason why you would aim for it out of the blue, despite knowing that Scolipede takes pitiful damage from it," Hugh said.

"Y'know, I need to give you some more credit, Matis," Nate said. "You're a lot smarter than bunhead."

"Hey!" Rosa yelled, offended yet again.

"But still," Yancy said, ignoring Rosa. "You're still strong."

"I guess..." Nate muttered, not knowing what else to say.

"She's right," Roxie said as she walked up to them. "You all proved to be a good challenge. And you three definitely deserve this."

Roxie took something out from her pocket and tossed them to the trio. They all caught it; revealing a badge and a purple disc.

"That's the Toxic Badge," Roxie explained. "And that TM contains Venoshock. Like I said before, if the target is already poisoned, then Venoshock will double in power."

"Thank you," Rosa said, before marveling at her second badge. "Yes! One step closer to becoming the Champion!"

"Don't get too cocky there," Nate said.

"I still managed to win Challenge Mode," Rosa shot back.

"Well technically you drawed," Nate pointed out. "So don't get cocky till you actually beat a leader on Challenge."

Rosa narrowed her eyes at the smug boy, grumbling under her breath.

"That asides," Nate said, turning to Hugh. "You actually managed to win Challenge despite a type-disadvantage. That's pretty impressive."

"Thanks," Hugh said, while Rosa was still grumbling.

"Oh quit whining," Nate muttered. "You still did pretty good, and would've won if she hadn't exploded."

"I-I guess..." Rosa mumbled.

"So, what now?" Hugh asked.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Roxie suddenly yelled, catching everyone by surprise.

"Ow...what...?" Nate grumbled, covering his ears.

"I forgot about my idiot dad He still needs to do his job as captain!" Roxie growled. "I'll be right back!"

Roxie suddenly dashed out of the room, leaving the group in the gym.

"Uh...what happened...?" Rosa asked.

"Uh...Roxie's dad apparently abandoned his post as captain of the ferry and headed off to Pokéstar Studios," Yancy explained.

"Wait, you mean _the_ Pokéstar Studios?!" Rosa gasped. "Where all the famous movies are made!?"

"Yep, that's the one," Yancy said.

"Oh my gosh! We should totally go!" Rosa chimed. "Maybe we can see Brycen!"

"Why?" Nate asked. "It's her own business to deal with. It's not our problem. I don't see why we have to get involved."

"Uh Nate..." Yancy pointed out. "Roxie's dad is the only one who works the ferry."

"...What?" Nate asked.

"And if I recalled, we have to take the ferry if we want to head to the next city, Castelia," Hugh pointed out as well. "...And there's only one boat that acts as ferry."

Awkward silence filled the room, before Nate pointed to the exit.

"Alright bitches! To Pokéstar Studios!" Nate declared. "We're taking that degenerate back! Even if we have to resort to use force!"

This earned him a cheer from Rosa, an exasperated sigh from Hugh, and nervous chuckling from Yancy.

* * *

After a quick detour to the pokécenter to heal up their Pokémon, Yancy guided them to the way to Pokéstar Studios. It was a large, gallant film studios, farther than the eye can see.

"Welcome to Pokéstar Studios," Yancy said.

"Oh, so this is show biz," Nate muttered.

"This is AMAZING!" Rosa exclaimed with starry eyes.

"So, where would we find Roxie's dad?" Hugh asked Yancy.

"Well, my guess would be that he would be in one of the filming studios," Yancy said. "Although it would be easier if we found Roxie."

"WHERE THE HELL IS THAT PIECE OF POOP!?"

"And there's our indicator," Nate said.

"Did she call her father a piece of poop?" Rosa asked.

They all followed the sound of that outburst to see Roxie grabbing the collar of one of the security guards in front of a filming studio.

"Miss Roxie! Please! Calm! Down!" the guard blurted between shakes.

"Roxie! Calm down!" Yancy yelled as she pried Roxie off of the guard.

Roxie managed to calm down enough to register Yancy and the trio.

"Wait, what're you guys doing here?" Roxie asked.

"Well we decided to help you bring your old man back," Nate said. "Considering he's the only captain around these parts, and we're not gonna swim across the goddamn ocean to Castelia."

"Your father already finished filming his movie," the guard explained. "He should be in the main theater right now."

"Thank you," Yancy said as she dragged Roxie away from assaulting the guard. "C'mon Roxie."

"Fine," Roxie grumbled.

"But still," the guard commented. "I'm surprised to see you here, Miss Yancy."

"Huh?" Yancy asked, suddenly paling.

"Wait, you came here before?" Rosa asked.

"Well yes, you see, Miss Yancy is–," the guard was about to say, until Yancy bolted and covered his mouth.

"NOTHING!" Yancy blurted. "I'm a friend of Roxie's, so I'm allowed to visit her whenever she's co-starring in a movie! That's it! That's definitely it!"

"O-Okay...?" Rosa replied, somewhat startled and confused at the girl's sudden outburst.

"You alright?" Nate asked.

"Yes, I'm fine!" Yancy hastily replied. "Now come on! Let's go get Roxie's dad!"

Having let go of Roxie, Yancy grabbed Nate's arm and hastily dragged him away from the studio.

"What the–OW! My arm's not taffy!" Nate yelled in pain as he was dragged away.

The other three followed after Yancy and Nate, while the guard looked confused.

"Why did she act like that?" he asked to no one in particular. "I mean, she is world famous after all. It's not like they wouldn't have recognized her by now."

* * *

Soon enough, they found the main theater, where all the filmed movies would be debuted, and the inside was even grander than the entire studio.

"Huh, so this is a theater," Nate commented as he and Yancy entered. "Y'know, I never been to one of these, theaters or whatever you call them."

"Really?" Yancy asked, quite shocked.

"Well, I lived a life where being a stingy person is a must if you want food to eat and had little to no technology, truth be told," Nate replied. "I never bothered to think about luxuries like this."

Yancy stared at Nate, as he looked around the theater curiously.

"Hm? Nancy?"

Yancy froze, while Nate looked confused, until spotting a man with a ponytail wearing a captain's garb approached them.

"Nancy...?" Nate muttered.

"Oh hi Roxie's dad!" Yancy suddenly blurted. "Seriously, you know my name's Yancy! Ahaha! You're such a joker!"

Roxie's dad looked confused, until she glanced at Nate repeatedly, where the captain got the memo. Nate, meanwhile, glanced at Yancy suspiciously.

"Oh right, sorry about that!" Roxie's dad coughed. "I keep messing up your name...I don't know why. Forgive me, Yancy."

"It's alright," Yancy said, hoping that Nate would buy it.

Predictably, Nate didn't buy it one bit, but he decided to go along with it for now.

"Whatever," Nate muttered. "So, Roxie's dad. You mind coming back to the harbors, so you can take us on your ferry to Castelia?"

"Oh, but I LOVE it here!" Roxie's dad exclaimed. "The spotlight! The acting! The recognition! What more could a man aspiring to act ask for!?"

"Y'know your daughter's coming over to potentially beat your ass, right?"

"...Say what?"

"YOU PIECE OF POOOOP!"

Roxie's dad glanced over, only to be met with Roxie's boots, in his face, as Roxie performed a High Jump Kick straight in his head, sending the poor man flying.

"It's super effective!" Nate joked as Rosa and Hugh rushed over.

"At least she's physically fit," Rosa commented, unsure of what to say.

"Alright you!" Roxie growled as she picked up her father by the collar. "You're coming back to the harbor and you're going to do your job and stop causing trouble to the people who need to get to Castelia!"

"Ow...my daughter...it hurts so much..." he grunted.

"Okay, let's calm down here," Nate said as he pried Roxie off of her father. "We need him to be conscious if we want to get to Castelia."

"But daughter!" Roxie's father complained. "I must become an actor! It is my dream!"

"Well you have your responsibilities as a captain first!" Roxie growled.

"Please reconsider!"

"Alright, alright, what's going on here?"

Everyone turned to see a new face, a bald man in a snazzy suit with a yellow mustache.

"Oh! Mister Stu Deeoh!" Roxie's dad exclaimed.

"Who names their kid that?" Nate asked, where Hugh shoved his elbow into his side.

"Bonsoir! Hello children!" Stu exclaimed, seemingly ignoring Nate's rude comment. "I am Stu Deeoh! Charmed, I'm sure!"

"Oh my gosh! You're Mr. Stu Deeoh! The owner of Pokestar Studios!" Rosa gasped.

"Yes I am, my fair lady," Stu chuckled. "Oh, there you are Frederick. I actually need to have a word with you."

"Yes? What is it?" Roxie's dad, Frederick, asked.

"Well, about your movie..." Stu said in an uneasy tone. "While we did appreciate the effort you put into it..."

"Uh huh..."

"...It was, how do you say, a bust."

"...A bust...?"

"Yes, a bust."

A good awkward silence filled the air, as Frederick stared at Stu Deeoh with shocked eyes.

"...So I'm gonna guess it didn't do so well?" Nate broke the silence, earning him a few stares. "What? I don't know movie lingo."

"B-But why...?" Frederick asked.

"Well, according to the audience survey," Stu explained. "They weren't immersed in the movie. It bored them. And your character is apparently a 'coward' for giving into the villain's demands in the end."

Frederick looked shocked.

"I'm sorry, dahling," Stu said while patting his shoulder. "It would seem that show biz is not for you."

Frederick just stood there as Stu walked away, where Roxie soon patted his shoulder in comfort.

"Are you alright, Dad?" Roxie asked.

"...Ha ha ha..." Frederick muttered hollowly. "I've always dreamed of making my debut on the silver screen...and now I fulfilled that dream..."

"Well you did...sort of..." Roxie said.

"Different people have different talents...I knew it all along..." Frederick went on. "But I see you striving to balance the responsibility of being a gym leader while pursuing your dream of your band.

"Although I'm a father, I wanted to pursue my long-held dreams...but...I guess I wasn't cut out for it...If you stop pursuing your dreams, your life might as well be over...right...?"

The others glanced at him in a rather sympathetic look, but Nate suddenly glared at him.

"No," he said.

"Huh...?" Frederick asked, before Nate grabbed him by the collar.

"What the–?!" Rosa and Hugh gasped.

"Nate?!" Yancy gasped.

"What're you–!?" Roxie yelled.

"Don't give me stupid shit like that," Nate snarled. "So what if your dreams are a bust? Giving up your life just because it didn't go so well on the first try is pathetic and pointless!"

Frederick looked surprised at the boy as he went on.

"So what if it didn't go so well the first time? Just get better, and try again, damn it!" Nate yelled. "It's your life! Treasure it! Live it to the fullest! Don't throw it out so easily just because everything didn't work out in the beginning! Dreams aren't meant to be easy! They're meant to give your life meaning, so you wake up the next day and work hard to achieve that dream! Life is meant to be hard, but it's your one and only life! So keep it! And I swear to God if you were considering on giving up life even the slightest bit, I will beat the shit out of you so you WANT to breathe!"

Everyone was just speechless as they looked at Nate. The boy sighed as he dropped Frederick.

"N-Nate...?" Yancy stammered, still shocked by his outburst. "I-I don't think he was going to commit suicide or anything...?"

"Still, even thinking that he would consider that pissed me off," Nate grumbled. "Treasure your fucking life. You only have one. Tch! I'm out of here!"

Nate turned around and angrily stormed off, leaving the group to just stand there, still stunned by his outburst. Or at least, he tried to storm off...

"That...was...FANTASTIC!"

Stu Deeoh showed up out of nowhere, standing in front of Nate and stopping him in his track.

"Gah!? What the hell?!" Nate blurted, his anger melting into confusion.

"That was a marvelous speech, child!" Stu exclaimed. "It was breath-taking! Astonishing! STUPENDOUS!"

"Uh...thanks...?"

"What is your name, child?"

"Huh? It's Nate...?"

"Nate, dahling, how would you like to be in a movie?" Stu offered.

"EEEH!?" everyone else shouted.

"That speech oozed authority and confidence, while leaving a hint of a sad untold tale that brims with the experience you have to make such a speech," Stu went on. "And that attitude of yours! The bad boy attitude you possess compliments that imposing forte FLAWLESSLY! You will definitely make a great anti-hero!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, okay, hold on there, buddy," Nate exclaimed while raising his hands in defense. "I never said jack shit about being in a movie!"

"Yeah, why just him!?" Rosa yelled.

"I don't think that's the point," Hugh muttered from the side.

"Please, won't you consider?" Stu asked.

"I dunno, I suck at technology and anything 'hip', so the odds of this working out is..." Nate tried to get out of it.

"We'll pay you a fraction of the box-office gross that is made from your movie!"

Nate suddenly stopped arguing when Stu mentioned the pay. He would be paid to do a stupid movie. Movies, according to his knowledge, usually made a lot of money. Even if it was a fraction, that would still equate to a lot of money.

"BRING ME THE CHEAP LEATHER, DIRECTOR!" Nate suddenly yelled with gusto.

"That's the spirit!" Stu exclaimed with joy.

"Is this really happening?" Rosa asked.

* * *

"This is really happening..." Rosa muttered.

Currently, the group was in a green room, getting ready to record the scene. Nate was being fitted in a blue and yellow costume with a yellow cape, with red gloves and a red mask covering his eyes.

"Cheap leather indeed..." Nate muttered, as Luca stood beside him.

"-So, what're we doing?-" Luca asked.

"We're gonna be in one of those movies that we heard of," Nate said. "And we're getting paid. That's the important part."

"I still can't believe you accepted the deal so quickly..." Yancy said.

"Hey, as long as I get paid, then what's the harm?" Nate asked. _'And so long as I'm wearing a mask, then I should be safe.'_

"You're doing the movie I acted in," Frederick said somewhat quietly.

"Alright now," the director came up to Nate. "Here's your script. Mr. Stu Deeoh apparently edited it to fit your personality, or so he says. You're going to be Lucario-Kid."

Nate was handed his script, and skimmed through it along with Luca.

"Now," the director said, as a man wearing a purple costume that revealed his chest with a green cape walked up to them. "This is Brycen. He'll be playing the villain in this scene."

Brycen eyed Nate, who eyed him back carefully.

"Break a leg," Brycen simply said.

"Likewise," Nate said.

"Oh. My. God. It really is Brycen!" Rosa squealed as she appeared right next to him out of nowhere, shocking them. "Hello, Brycen, sir! My name is Rosa Echoes, and I am a HUGE fan of your work!"

"Thank you, young lass," Brycen chuckled.

"Not now," Nate interjected, flicking Rosa on the forehead.

"OW!" Rosa yelped.

"I'll get you an autograph or whatever later," Nate said. "Now go."

Grumbling under her breath, Rosa stomped back to Hugh's side, where the boy simply sighed.

"Sorry about that," Nate apologized to Brycen.

"It's no problem," Brycen stated calmly.

"Now, everyone get to position!"

Nate and Brycen got to their positions, as the lights began to dim.

" _A place of never-ending smiles! Everyone's ideal place to play! The amusement park!"_ someone narrated. _"But a threatening shadow lurks over this happy place...the stage is set for trouble..."_

" _However!"_ the narration went on. _"It's darkest just before the dawn! A hero has appeared on the scene! That hero's name is...Lucario-Man!"_

"And that's the hero's cue!" the director signaled Nate.

Nate stepped up, flinging his arm to the side for dramatic effect.

"So you showed yourself, Brycen-Man!" Nate boomed with gusto. "You'll regret the day you decided to terrorize the amusement park!"

"And who do you think you are?!" Brycen demanded with a wicked grin, instantly dropping his calm persona he had before.

"The messenger of Truths and Ideals! Nightmare to you!" Nate responded. "I am Lucario-Kid! And I'll show you the nightmare of facing justice!"

' _Wow he's pretty good at this,'_ Rosa whispered to Hugh.

"Is that so?" Brycen scoffed. "Well then, let's see how you handle my power!"

Brycen released two Pokémon, a pawniard and a vullaby, while Luca stepped up besides Nate.

"Go, my Pokémon! Unleash your power!" Brycen yelled. "Destroy everything in this amusement park!"

"Oh please," Nate scoffed. "Go, Lucario! Show them what happens when you mess with justice!"

Luca obliged and forged a Bone Rush staff, and engaged the attacking pawniard and vullaby. As Luca was fighting off the two Dark-types, Brycen decided to take the initiative and lunge at Nate. The thief grinned as he met Brycen's staff with one of his arms.

"Pawniard, Brick Break!"

"Luca, Bone Rush!"

Pawniard lunged for Luca, attempting to smash her head with a Brick Break, but Luca elegantly dodged the pawn, and smashed her staff at its chest, sending it crashing into the floor, and instantly knocking it out.

"A single hit to KO my Pokémon...you're pretty good, Lucario-Kid" Brycen mused. "Despite that, however..."

Vullaby lunged at Luca, who defended herself with her staff. Vullaby went for an air slash, managing to break Luca's staff in half, and forcing the jackal to jump back.

"You will get down on your knees before me when I end you with my dark, secret arts!" Brycen boomed evilly. "Prepared to be finished!"

Nate simply grinned sadistically, as he brought his head right into Brycen's.

"Bring it on!" he challenged dangerously.

"Well said!" Brycen yelled. "My dark, secret arts enter! Take them and be gone! Vullaby, Air Slash!"

"Lucario, Aura Sphere!"

Luca charged an aura sphere in her paw, as Vullaby went for another air slash, shooting a blade of air straight for Luca.

"-TAKE THIS!-" Luca roared as she shot a full-charged Aura Sphere at Vullaby.

The Aura Sphere ripped straight through the air slash, and nailed Vullaby cleanly, taking out the baby vulture.

"What?!" Brycen gasped.

Nate took the distraction as an opportunity, and performed a round-house kick at Brycen, sending him back. Brycen easily landed on his feet, but glared at Nate.

"Arrrgh..." Brycen growled in annoyance. "Braving my secret arts to take out my Pokémon with one hit..."

"Don't you get it, Brycen-Man?!" Nate asked dramatically. "This is an amusement park filled with the ideals of people! It's not a place where you can go and corrupt it with your evil! If you get that, then leave and never attempt this again! Or I'll just have to teach you what happens when you meddle against justice, again!"

"Hmph, very well, I shall pull back today," Brycen grumbled. "You may be the Messenger of Truths and Ideals, but I am Brycen-Man! The Masked Man of Reality and Phantasm!"

Brycen pointed his staff at Nate threateningly.

"Mark my words, Lucario-Kid!" Brycen declared. "You haven't seen the last of me!"

Smoke suddenly erupted from underneath Brycen, where he disappeared once it cleared.

"Brycen-Man...The Masked Man..." Nate muttered. "What is he planning...?"

" _Teaching Brycen-Man, the Masked Man, a lesson, the Lucario-Kid savedthe amusement park,"_ the narration said as Nate turned around, letting his cape fling widely for dramatic effect as he walked away. _"Having spoken in a daring tone, Brycen-Man disappeared into thin air…To protect the truths and ideals of Unova, go on, Lucario-Kid! Fight on, Lucario-Kid!"_

* * *

"AAAAAND CUT!"

The lights brightened up, signifying the end of the filming.

"EXCELLENT!" the director boomed. "I can see why Mr. Deeoh hand-picked you!"

"So when do I get paid?" Nate asked.

"When the movie airs and we get a box-office gross," the director chuckled.

Smirking devilishly, Nate took off the mask, as a group began to undress him out of his costume, and handed him his usual clothing. As Nate got dressed, the others went up to him.

"That was pretty good," Rosa complimented. "And you said you've never been to a movie theater before?"

"I was poor as molasses, so yeah," Nate responded.

"Well, considering this was your first time even being affiliated with the theaters, you did pretty well in that filming," Roxie complimented.

"So, what exactly did the guy change about your script?" Hugh asked.

"Well, I'm gonna assume it was the parts he underlined as 'dangerous', and the fight scene," Nate guessed.

"N-Nate..." Yancy stuttered. "You were...pretty good out there..."

"Thanks," Nate said.

"Oh please, she was completely entranced with you," Roxie said teasingly, making Yancy blush furiously. "I swear her eyes were glued onto you like food to a munchlax."

Yancy hid her blushing expression under her hat. Meanwhile, Brycen walked up to them.

"You did well for a beginner, Nate," Brycen said.

"Thanks, I guess..." Nate muttered.

"And as for you, Frederick," Brycen addressed Roxie's father. "This is only the beginning. I'm sure you can make it with more practice."

Frederick's expression lit up. _The_ Brycen just complimented his skills as an actor!

"Will do, sir!" Frederick exclaimed.

Brycen simply smirked, as he began to leave.

"Oh, and Nate," Brycen said before he left, getting his attention. "Send my regards to your brother."

Nate's eyes widened in alarm, as he glanced back at Brycen's retreating figure.

"...Crap...he knows who I am..." Nate muttered under his breath.

"What was that about?" Roxie asked.

"Nothing," Nate shot back.

"...I've decided," Frederick suddenly said.

"Dad?" Roxie asked.

"I'll go back to my duties as a ship captain for now," he announced. "But someday, I'll return to the silver screen! No matter how hard I must try, I shall make it!"

Frederick faced Nate, extending his hand.

"Thank you, for helping me learn not to give up so easily," Frederick said.

Nate glanced at the hand as if he didn't recognize the gesture. Somewhat reluctantly, he accepted the handshake. Again with humans treating him with respect. This one was even thanking him. Normally they would've taken his words with offense.

"Thanks...I guess..." Nate muttered.

"Until that day comes, I'll leave the starring roles to the younger generations," Frederick said.

Roxie couldn't help but smirk at her old man. While he did stink, he wasn't gonna give up. Seeing that, she couldn't help but feel happy for him.

"Now then," Frederick said. "I do believe I owe you all a trip–."

"CAPTAIN FREDERICK!"

Everyone shot up to see a sailor running into the facilities, with many security guards after him.

"What the–?!" Frederick gasped.

"The ship!" the sailor yelped before being tackled by one of the guards.

"Let the man speak!" Frederick defended the sailor, making the guards let go of him. "What about it?"

"Some people are trying to steal the ship!" the sailor informed him.

"WHAT?!" they all gasped.

"Who!?" Frederick demanded.

"I don't recognize them," th sailor said. "But they were wearing strange, militaristic uniforms and had orange hair."

That description could only fit one person. Or rather, one association. An association the trio knew all too well.

"Team Plasma...!" Hugh growled.

"C'mon, we need to go!" Frederick yelled.

With Frederick and the sailor in the lead, they all rushed out of the building and back to the harbor, racing before Team Plasma could get away with the ship, and their only ticket to Castelia City.

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN:** And that's that. Hope you enjoyed that gym battle, and that short movie scene. Since the pokestar studios was unskipable back in the actual games, might as well have fun with it here as much as possible. Gave Nate some more characterization, and his emphasis on the value of life, Yancy almost had her cover blown to Nate (who more or less caught on), and Nate's now a movie star. And now Team Plasma is out to steal their one-way ticket to the next town (yet another deviation from the plot, if not a minor one).

And a few more announcements; like previously mentioned above, I have recently updated Color of Your Soul with an epilogue; covering events and Hilbert and Hilda's whereabouts after the ending and showcasing a battle against a certain guest-star from BW; not to mention a surprise at the end.

By popular demand, a story based on Platinum is currently under development, so look forward to that.

And just as I promised, I have recently started my XY novelization; **Fidelity**. Feel free to check it out whenever you feel like it or have free time.

Current Team Roster:

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Tep (Tepig) / Kid (Elekid)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Oshawott) / Nina (Growlithe)

Hugh: Vibrava / Snivy / Magby

Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the chapter, and as always, look forward to the next chapter. See ya next time!


	7. 07: A Sign of Progress

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 7: A Sign of Progress**

* * *

 **AN:** Okay before I get into this; a quick question to those of you who have written and published stories on this sight and can do this: I went to check on my story stats since I haven't done so in a while and was generally curious to see how they were doing, but for like from Monday to today, it displayed that there were no new visitors. Sure that must mean either this story has gone down into obscurity and no one likes it anymore, so I shrugged it off; but the same thing happened for all my other stories. Now that doesn't seem right, considering I got a review for CoYS today and yet the story stat for today didn't have any visitors accounted for. When I tested it by randomly going through a bunch of chapters for one of my stories on my phone, checked the stats, and it still showed no visitors; even though there's clearly an 'anonymous' viewer who's currently viewing the story. Is this happening to anyone else? Or am I just going crazy?

If you're an anonymous guest or haven't published anything on this site, then please disregard the above paragraph.

Anyways let's answer some reviews:

 **Tony Anderson, Anonymous Trainer:** Thanks! Glad you guys liked it!

 **Defender31415:** Thanks! Yeah, Nate has a way with words. And indeed, Rosa and Hugh are starting to think outside the box.

 **flashyhero:** Haha, don't worry about it. I'm not a grammar Nazi or anything. I'm only a grammar Nazi to my own work.

And well, Nate does have his handy-dandy superhuman suit, but there's also his past and the kind of life he had lived back then to account for as well. His suit just only amplified said already inhumane abilities.

 **xQEAx:** Thanks. Welp, look forward to more transceivershipping chapters, cuz we're far from over with it. Frankly I'm still on the fence on which ship I should put Nate in.

 **Guest (Aug 9):** Well expect more of visorshipping as well in the future; and besides it's not like Nate is a total bastard; he has a heart too. He just doesn't use it that much.

 **Blackhawk36:** Glad you liked that small visorshipping moment. Eh, give or take on whether that movie comes to bite him in the ass in the future. It's not like he really minds, seeing as he wore a mask, so he believes he's safe (he doesn't know about ending credits, so there's that).

 **Guest (Aug 10):** Gee, thanks! Glad to hear you don't mind on which ship I throw Nate into in the end :)

 **TheBrunigMan:** Does this chapter count? I mean he does get pissed a lot of times in this chapter, so does that count? Hopefully it does. If not, well...¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

And for flying types, well don't expect Hugh to get one, considering he has Vibrava (eventually gonna be a flygon), and that can fly. For Nate and Rosa...well they're near Route 4...

 **I. M. Poik:** Funny you'd mention that in your review...

 **greysky060:** Thanks! Glad you liked how I turned Nate into a marauding troll. I never leave a story unfinished (unless the community REALLY doesn't like it or I have a legitimate reason to delete it), and you can bet your ass I ain't gonna drop this story anytime soon!

 **Knight of Wings:** Always happy to see your detailed insight and feedback! I personally liked how I made Hugh and Snivy's fight against Roxie too. Well to answer your question, if all the gym leaders got to use their best pokemon without type limitations...considering Cheren got pretty close to beating Alder in this universe (for those of you curious, go read the epilogue part 1 of CoYS), then Cheren stands as a pretty freaking strong gym leader. Probably stronger than the others bar say, Drayden. Glad you liked the studio scene. Idfk why the Pokemon world has short films, go ask gamefreak. Who knows why Nate suddenly snapped at Roxie's dad, that'll all be up to the future to find out. I'm certainly not saying anything just yet. Well since you never played BW2, I'll just let you know that the Xtransceiver side quest shipping is probably one of the closest we're ever gonna get to an actual established romance between the MC and someone else. Either way, enjoy this love roller coaster that is gonna be visorshipping v transceivershipping. And of course, building up these relationships is key to a good romance. I mean, a lot of you guys REALLY enjoyed the chessshipping back in CoYS, and Hilda was pretty much a psychopath obsessed with Hilbert. Explain how Roxie and the water gym leader (he's called Marlon btw) got their positions? Hmm, maybe in future chapters I might dwell in that.

 **Murmur:** While I can understand why you would think that, since Rosa is pretty much an arrogant blowhard with stereotypical views on things (chapter 1 gives a shining example of that), don't be too sure. Mostly cuz that idea is going somewhere else. Besides, she's a lot more insightful than you'd think.

 **Guest (Aug 22):** Hmm...Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows but time.

Okay enough of that, let's start already.

* * *

"C'mon, move it already!"

At the VIrbank Harbor, a bunch of men wearing familiar-looking dark militaristic outfits were gathered around a boat.

"Is everything on the boat?" one of the men asked.

"Yep," another man grunted as he was carrying a heavy box. "That's the last one."

"Jesus...how much crap was stowed away in this part of Unova...?" another one asked.

"Apparently these are all back-up supplies stored in one of our old bases that was created at Aspertia before moving to the castle underground," the first grunt explained.

"Uh huh..." the second grunt muttered. "So...anyone knows how to work a ship?"

"I got it," the third grunt said. "You made sure no one spotted us, right?"

"Yeah," the second grunt said. "We should be safe for now..."

"STOP!"

The three grunts shot up to see a group of people racing towards the ship.

"You thieves!" Frederick yelled.

"What the–?!" the first grunt yelled, before glaring at the second grunt. "I thought you said no one spotted us!"

"I was sure no one spotted us!" the second grunt asked.

"Oh hell no!" Nate yelled. "Hey buggers! Get the hell off that ship! That's my ticket out of here!"

"Wait a minute, it's him!" the first grunt yelled, spotting Nate. "Get him!"

The three grunts sent out a patrat, a blue, bat-like Pokémon, and a purple rat-like Pokémon. Rosa took out her pokédex and scanned the bat, while Hugh took out his and scanned the rat.

"Zubat, the bat Pokémon," Rosa's pokédex read. "It does not need eyes, because it emits ultrasonic waves to check its surroundings while it flies."

"Rattata, the mouse Pokémon," Hugh's pokédex read. "It searches for food all day. It gnaws on hard objects to wear down its fangs, which grow constantly during its lifetime."

"Patrat, Tackle!"

"Zubat, Wing Attack!"

"Rattata, Hyper Fang!"

All three Pokémon targeted Nate and lunged for him.

"The hell!?" Nate blurted as he released his elekid, Kid, who released a Shock Wave at the three, electrocuting them and stopping their attacks.

"-About time you sent me out,-" Kid smirked as he prepped an Ice Punch.

"Ice Punch at Zubat," Nate commanded.

As Patrat and Rattata lunged for Kid, the Electric-type jumped on them, while lunging at Zubat and smashing his icy fist into the bat, sending it to the ground encased in ice.

"Why're they going after just Nate?" Hugh asked.

"Doesn't matter!" Rosa yelled.

Rosa released her growlithe, Nina, while Hugh released his magby.

"Nina, Fire Fang!"

"Magby, Fire Spin!"

Nina lunged at Patrat and sank fiery fangs into it, while Magby spewed a fiery tornado at Rattata, trapping it in a fiery vortex.

"Shock Wave!"

Kid rotated his arms quickly, charging up electricity and unleashed an electrical shockwave at the opposing enemies, blasting them with the electricity.

"Tch! These won't do!" the second grunt growled.

The three grunts recalled their first Pokémon, and released three new ones; an insectoid Pokémon in a hard, segmented shell, a tan, bipedal crocodile-like Pokémon, and a gray bipedal Pokémon with a large, round dark-violet nose.

"Whirlipede, the curlipede Pokémon," Nate's pokédex read. "Storing energy for evolution, it sits. But, when predators approach, it moves to stab them with poison spikes."

"Krokorok, the desert croc Pokémon," Rosa's pokédex read. "Protected by thin membranes, their eyes can see even in the dead of night. They live in groups of a few individuals."

"Gurdurr, the muscular Pokémon," Hugh's pokédex read. "With strengthened bodies, they skillfully wield steel beams to take down buildings."

"These look like they'll do some more damage," Nate muttered.

"Whirlipede! Steamroller on the elekid!"

"Krokorok, Crunch at the elekid!"

"Gurdurr, Dynamic Punch!"

Whirlipede began to roll, Krokorok prepared his teeth to gnaw, while Gurdurr reeled his fist, and they all lunged at Kid.

"Oh come on!" Nate groaned. "Low Kick at Krokorok!"

Kid dashed towards the three, avoiding Whirlipede and Gurdurr, and swiping his leg at Krokorok, making the desert croc trip and fall.

"Nina, Fire Fang at Whirlipede!" Rosa commanded.

"Magby, Flame Burst!" Hugh commanded.

Magby went ahead and shot smoldering fire at Gurdurr, stopping the fighting-type, while it shot off Gurdurr and blasted Whirlipede, stopping it in its tracks. While it was distracted, Nina lit her fangs on fire once more, as she lunged at Whirlipede and sank her fangs into the bug, causing it excruciating pain. Gurdurr went for Nina, but the pup hurled the whirlipede at Gurdurr, causing the bug to crash into the fighter,

"Now, freeze them with Ice Punch!" Nate yelled.

Kid's fist glowed in an icy aura, as he punched the ground in front of them, causing the ice to freeze the ground and encase the two in ice. As Kid was finished, Krokorok lunged at Kid from behind.

"Take Down!"

Nina intercepted Krokorok by crashing into it, knocking it down to the ground. It had enough force to knock it out.

* * *

"Damn it!" the first grunt muttered as they recalled their Pokémon. "We need to get out of here!"

"Oh hell nah!" Roxie yelled as she released Garbodor. "Toxic Spikes!"

Garbodor spat out several toxic spikes towards the grunts' escape route, stopping them in their escape. Kid took the opportunity to slam an Ice Punch into the ground, freezing the ground and encasing the grunts in ice up to their heads.

"Damn it!" the grunt swore.

"Now then," Nate said as he approached them. "Why the hell are you all targeting me?"

"Tch...Our boss put a bounty on you," the grunt decided to explain. "Whoever takes you out and drags you to him gets a hefty reward."

"Oh that's totally nice," Nate muttered sarcastically. "So tell me...where are you guys located next? Castelia perhaps?"

"Yeah," the grunt revealed. "Some of our other allies are over there doing a sweep."

"...You're surprisingly cooperative," Nate said. "Usually in these kind of situations, you all would say diddly squat until we threatened you."

"It's just delaying the inevitable if we played dumb," the grunt groaned. "Might as well tell you and get it over with."

"Is that so..." Nate said. "...So, mind telling us what Plasma's plans are?"

"Don't push it."

"Damn, worth a shot."

Hugh suddenly barged through Nate and grabbed the grunt by the head.

"You! Do you know of a purrloin that was stolen by you freaks back at Aspertia five years ago?" Hugh interrogated.

"The hell're you talking about?!" the grunt yelled.

Hugh leered at the other two, who had clueless expressions on them as well. None of them seemed to know what he's talking about.

"Keh! You're all useless then!" Hugh snarled as he threw the grunt into the other grunts.

Nate narrowed his eyes at Hugh as he stepped back.

"Anyways," Nate said, turning to Roxie. "They should be stuck there for a while, so call the police when you can."

"Thanks," Roxie said.

"Since we now know that they're probably in Castelia," Nate said, turning to Frederick. "To Castelia, good captain!"

"Right," Frederick said, turning to his ship. "Alright, all aboard!"

As the trio got onto the boat, Yancy stopped Nate, grabbing the sleeve of his jacket.

"So...you're leaving...?" Yancy asked.

"Huh...? Oh yeah," Nate muttered, facing the girl. "Well...it's been fun...I guess..."

"Will...we meet again...?" Yancy asked.

"Huh? Well, I'm sure we'll run into each other again," Nate said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Th-then...c-can you promise?"

"Heh?"

Yancy lifted out her pinky finger, and pointed it to Nate.

"Pinky promise...?" Yancy asked.

"P-Pinky promise...?" Nate stuttered.

"Did he just stutter?" Rosa whispered to Hugh.

"Uh...s-sure..." Nate muttered, accepting her pinky with his.

"Pinky, pinky bow-bell,

Whoever tells a lie,

Will sink down to the bad place,

And never rise up again."

Nate's promise was somewhat uneasy, still somewhat confused, while Yancy was more enthusiastic about it. Although the pink promise did bring back a nostalgic feeling in him.

A time of peace.

A blissful time when he didn't have to care about anything.

A...happier time.

To her surprise, the boy did break into a rather soft smile.

"Haha, this is pretty nostalgic," Nate mused.

"Huh? It is?" Yancy asked.

"Yeah...my brother and I used to do these all the time when we made promises..." Nate said.

Rosa and Hugh looked shocked at Nate's expression. It was soft, happy even. It was a major contrast to his usual snark and ice expression. Nate caught onto Rosa and Hugh staring at him, and quickly broke out of it, hiding it under his visor.

"A-Anyways," Nate muttered. "Let's go. We should reach Castelia by dawn."

Rosa and Hugh snapped out of their stupor and followed Nate onto Frederick's boat.

"I'm counting on ya, Dad!" Roxie yelled.

"Leave it to me, my daughter!" Frederick exclaimed.

"Bye Nate!" Yancy exclaimed.

Giving the bubble-gum haired girl a wave, Nate rode the boat, as it departed off into the open sea, headed straight for Castelia in pursuit of Team Plasma.

"You really developed a crush on him, didn't you?" Roxie decided to tease.

"Wha–?!" Yancy blurted, her face becoming as red as a pokéball.

"Oh don't try to play dumb," Roxie teased. "It was love at first sight or something like that."

"H-He was just nice to me," Yancy tried to defend herself.

"But still, you totally missed out on getting his number," Roxie giggled.

"Huh–Oh no! I totally forgot to exchange numbers with him!" Yancy gasped, before groaning while rummaging through her bag. "Darn it...it would've been the perfect way to keep in touch with him and get to know him better...huh...?"

Yancy looked through her bag again. And frantically repeated the process again. And then dumped the content of her bag onto the ground, before frantically looking through them.

"It's gone..." Yancy gaped.

"What?" Roxie asked.

"It's gone!" Yancy cried out. "My Xtransceiver is gone!"

"Huh?!" Roxie blurted as Yancy began to panic.

"Oh no oh no oh no oh no..." Yancy began to hyperventilate. "D-Did I drop it somewhere...? Maybe I dropped it somewhere...Maybe I dropped it at the complex!"

"Hold it there!" Roxie exclaimed as she grabbed Yancy's arm, stopping her from going off to the complex. "Look, it's already the dead of night. I can't have you running off to the complex on some wild goose chase. Besides, at this point, someone's probably picked it up by now. Just try calling it with my Xtransceiver and see who has it."

"I-I guess..." Yancy said. "Oh no...Father and Brother are gonna be pretty angry with me..."

"Look, I'll go apologize to them with you," Roxie told her.

"O-Okay..." Yancy muttered.

"Good," Roxie said. "Now head back to the gym, while I turn these guys in."

Yancy nodded as Roxie had Garbodor grab all three of the grunts within his arms and carried them to the pokécenter.

"I wonder who picked it up though..." Yancy muttered, now worried about who could have possibly picked up her Xtransceiver.

* * *

"...In the end, I still don't know who the hell this belongs to..." Nate muttered as he studied the old Xtransceiver he had picked up earlier.

The sea breeze hit his face as he leaned back on the railing in front of the boat. Rosa and Hugh had already gone to sleep in the bedrooms in the boat.

"Yo Captain!" Nate called out to Frederick, who was driving the boat. "How much longer till we reach Castelia!?"

"We'll reach it by dawn," Frederick called back. "Why don't you go to sleep?"

"In a bit," Nate trailed off as he glanced back to the Xtransceiver in his hand.

He still didn't know who this Xtransceiver belonged to, and he picked it up regardless. Whoever this belonged to must be worried sick that their essential phone is missing and in the hands of someone as shady as him.

Nate decided to check the internal data of the Xtransceiver. Surely that would shed some light at who this belonged to. The boy fiddled and pressed a bunch of buttons on it.

"Damn it..." Nate swore as he was struggling in working the damn thing. "C'mon, Nate...you've survived ten years in the wild...survived on the streets...dealt with faces worse than death...you can do this! You're not gonna let some piece of junk get the best of you!"

...Obviously the boy wasn't a technological genius. Further supported by the fact that Nate _still_ struggled with working the Xtransceiver. Eventually, after several trial-and-error attempts, Nate finally reached the main menu of the device.

"Finally," Nate sighed. "Now...how do I check the user data...ah, here we go!"

After shuffling through the menu, Nate finally found the user data. To his surprise, the device belonged to a certain bubble-gum haired girl.

"...Well just my luck," Nate muttered. "In the end, she's stuck with me in one way or another."

Just as he was about to close the menu, it began to ring.

"Wah!? The hell?!" Nate muttered as he checked to see who was calling.

It was Roxie.

"Guitarist midget...?" Nate asked, before pressing the answer button. "Hello...?"

" _Ah..."_ the other line muttered.

To his surprise, the one calling wasn't Roxie, but Yancy.

"...So I assume this is yours?" Nate asked.

" _So you had it..."_ Yancy sighed.

"I found it at the Complex as we were leaving," Nate said. "Didn't know whose it was, so I held on to it. Didn't think it was that important until I actually checked the interior."

" _Thank goodness..."_ Yancy sighed in relief. _"I was worried that someone shady might've picked it up."_

' _I am kinda shady, y'know,'_ Nate thought. "So? What're you gonna do about your transceiver?"

" _Well...I would like to pick it up as soon as possible..."_ Yancy said. _"But I'm kinda stuck with family issues right now...so I won't be able to come pick it up for a while..."_

"Is that so..." Nate muttered.

" _So...could you hold onto it for the time being...?"_ Yancy asked.

Nate stared at Yancy's embarrassed, yet pleading expression.

...There probably was no problem with holding onto it for a while.

"...Sure, why not," Nate said.

" _Thank you!"_ Yancy rejoiced. _"Oh, I'll keep in touch with my old Xtransceiver for the time being, so we won't be able to converse face-to-face...is that okay?"_

"I don't really see a problem," Nate replied.

" _Great! I'll send over my old transceiver's number through Roxie's,"_ Yancy said. _"So that way, you'll recognize my number when I call you...oh wait...I need your number..."_

"Uh...gimme a sec," Nate muttered. "Fucking Christ...how do you send a number over...?"

Nate took out his Xtransceiver and began to fiddle with it, retracing the steps he took with the old Xtransceiver.

"Uh...how do I do this...?" Nate muttered. "Goddamn it..."

" _Uh...Nate...?"_

"Gimme a second...God how does this work...?"

" _Don't tell me...do you not know how to send a message with your Xtransceiver...?"_

"Shut up! I can do this..."

Nate continued to struggle with trying to find his number, let alone send a message between grumbles and growling.

" _If you can just tell me your number...I can write it down and send you my number later..."_ Yancy offered.

Nate grumbled, before complying, not wishing to waste any more time. Retracing the (unnecessary) steps he took to find Yancy's number, Nate managed to find his Xtransceiver's number.

"Oh, here we go!" Nate said.

Satisfied with himself for finding it, Nate told Yancy his number, who wrote it down.

" _Alright, got it,"_ Yancy said. _"Alright, I'll send you my old phone's number through Roxie's."_

"Got it," Nate said, before noticing Yancy giggling slightly. "What's so funny?"

" _It's pretty funny seeing you rejoice over something as simple as that,"_ Yancy giggled.

"Tch..." Nate groaned. "I suck at using technology, shut up."

" _It's still pretty funny,"_ Yancy said. _"So even someone like you have something you're bad at."_

"Keh! Sorry about that," Nate scoffed, leading to the two of them chuckling with each other.

" _I gotta go..."_ Yancy said. _"I'll talk to you later."_

"Later..." Nate said, as the line cut off.

After a few minutes, Nate's Xtransceiver rang. Nate checked it to see a message on it, just like what Yancy said. The message did have Yancy's number, just like she had promised.

 _Once I get back home I'll call you, so remember this number, okay?_

 _...Thank you for keeping my transceiver. I'm really glad that it's you who has it_

 _Have a good night. Ttyl._

 _-Yancy_

"...What the hell does 'ttyl' mean?" Nate asked, before dismissing it. "But still..."

Like he had thought, Yancy was nice. She was nice to him. She was grateful for him.

...That felt wrong.

In his years of struggling to live, he had seen the dark side of humanity: greed, anger, selfishness, perversity, cruelty, arrogance, ignorance.

...Hatred.

To the pathetic, normal humans, he was a freak of nature. He had inhumane strength and athletics, could lift things normal humans could only dream of lifting, wielded knives like sticks, could hack off an arm without batting an eye, could climb up walls with the ease of a galvantula, and most of all; he could talk to Pokémon and understand them.

He was a freak. A monster. He was ostracized for it, and viewed as inhumane.

With such treatment and experience, he had lost all hope in such a pathetic species.

"...There were exceptions..." Nate muttered. "But..."

What confused him greatly was the girl. He had helped out 'humans' on several occasion, contrary to what others would probably think of him, but the majority of the time, he was not rewarded at all. It further fueled their fear and hatred of him.

Yet with Yancy, everything seemed different.

She actually thanked him. She was grateful for him. She called him a nice person. He couldn't recall how long it had been since someone actually thanked him.

...What the hell was she?

Why the hell was she acting so nice to him?

Was it some kind of ploy? It wouldn't surprise him if it was, since he's experienced it before, but...she seemed truly genuine in her gratitude.

He recalled what his boss had told him before sending him off to his long errand.

"...Humans are pathetic...humans are evil...no good will ever come out from humanity..." Nate muttered to himself. "...That's the case...right...?"

Speaking of which, there were a few exceptions. Cowlick and Klutz, while somewhat infuriating, and were the reason why he was stuck on this stupid trip anyways, but they did provide him with clothing, a means of communication, and they didn't turn him over to the police. Not to mention they were friends of his brother; his only friends apparently.

Old Man Alder hadn't changed much; he was still as jovial and compassionate as he was all those years ago.

And then there was Rosa and Hugh. While the girl had an ego larger than a gigalith, and Matis was essentially the bad owner to the spoiled dog that was Bunhead, not to mention the number of times he and Bunhead bicker and argue in such a short amount of time, their intentions were pure. Bunhead at least, was serious on becoming the Champion, and was genuinely trying.

They didn't actually hate him, but treated him as an equal, although he was sure Bunhead wouldn't admit it.

They were all exceptions. And Yancy was the biggest one. The entire time he was with her contradicted everything he believed and was taught to believe about humanity.

...He just can't comprehend it.

"...What the hell is that girl...?" Nate muttered frustrated. "...Gah! Whatever!"

Nate shoved the transceivers in his bag in frustration and headed back to the bunks, deciding to no longer think about it.

* * *

"I'm really sorry!"

Yancy and Roxie were was currently bowing to an older man with short pink hair, and a young man with lime green hair and green eyes.

"Look, it's not your fault," the boy said. "It was an honest mistake, really, so you don't have to worry about it too much. And besides, you said it was with a friend, right?"

"Ah, yeah!" Yancy piped up. "It's in safe hands for the time being."

"Well, at least there's no worries of identity theft or anything," the man sighed. "...For now, you'll have to wait until you get a break, then go pick it up from your friend."

"I'm sorry, Father," Yancy mumbled.

"It's alright," the man assured her daughter. "Just be more careful next time. You got off very lucky this time, young lady."

With that, her father left, leaving the three kids to themselves.

"Don't look so down, Yancy," the boy said. "It'll be alright."

"I hope it is, Curtis," Yancy said.

"Y'know this is something I'd expect you to do," Roxie snickered at Curtis.

"Wha–I'm not that clumsy!" Curtis yelled at Roxie.

"C-Clumsy..." Yancy mumbled.

"Ah–I didn't mean it like–!" Curtis tried to reassure Yancy.

"You have a way with words, y'know that?" Roxie snickered.

"Shut up," Curtis grumbled.

As the two began to bicker off, Yancy's mind drifted off to her missing Xtransceiver, and how it was in Nate's hands at the moment. She couldn't help but worry about it; what if he lost it too? What if anything happened to him and the transceiver?

"No..." Yancy shook the doubts out of her head. "I'm sure it'll be alright."

With slightly flushed cheeks, Yancy decided to believe in Nate.

* * *

"WE'RE HERE! WAKE UP, YOU KIDS!"

The trio groggily opened their eyes, being met with the rays of the sun leaking from the windows.

"Urgh...already...?" Nate grumbled as he got up.

Rosa and Hugh got up from their bunk beds, stretching out their arms and yawning.

"Ugh...good morning," Rosa yawned.

"We're here...?" Hugh groaned, rubbing his eyes.

The three kids got out of the boat with all their belongings, stepping off onto the port.

"Welcome to Castelia kids!" Frederick exclaimed.

"Thanks for the ride!" Rosa exclaimed.

"Good luck with your journey!" Frederick called out as the trio headed into the concrete jungle.

"Now then..." Nate muttered. "So how do we find these bastards in this place?"

"I guess, we'll have to split up and search," Rosa said.

"Alright," Hugh said. "We'll each split up and search the city. If any of us find anything, make sure to contact the rest of us."

Rosa and Nate nodded in agreement as they all went their separate ways in search of Team Plasma.

* * *

"Even if he says that..." Nate muttered as he looked around in the alleyway he was in. "It's like finding a needle in a haystack..."

The boy searched through the alleyways, twirling his knives in his hand, discouraging any shady people from targeting him.

"Tch, worthless thugs..." Nate grumbled.

As he looked around for any suspicious signs, his Xtransceiver began to ring.

"Huh? Did they find something already?" Nate asked.

He checked his transceiver, but found that it wasn't either of them. The number displayed on it was familiar to him, despite it being the first time he had seen it on his transceiver. He answered it.

"Yancy?" Nate asked.

" _Ah, Nate!"_ Yancy responded from the other line. _"You responded."_

"Well, yeah, you told me to," Nate said.

" _I'd thought you'd forget,"_ Yancy admitted shyly.

"Hey, give me more credit, I'm not that forgetful," Nate muttered. "Sorry, but you mind calling later...? I'm kinda in the middle of something..."

" _Oh, sorry! I didn't know..."_ Yancy apologized.

"It's alright," Nate muttered.

" _Are you searching for Team Plasma...?"_ Yancy decided to guess.

"Pretty much," Nate said as he resumed walking. "Although I dunno how I'm supposed to find them in this goddamn melting pot of 'humans'."

" _It would be pretty hard, huh,"_ Yancy said. _"Anyways...I don't wanna get in your way...I'll call some other time."_

"Sorry 'bout that," Nate muttered.

" _It's okay! I called you when you were in the middle of something anyways,"_ Yancy said. _"I'm just glad you answered my call, like you said you would."_

"Yeah," Nate muttered. "I'll talk to you later."

" _Alright, talk to you again,"_ Yancy said. _"Good-bye..."_

Yancy cut off the line, ending the call. Nate stopped, staring at the screen, before fidgeting with the transceiver. After some trial and error, he had the number recorded onto his contacts list.

"Hey!"

Nate looked up from his transceiver, to see a shady looking thug holding a knife out in front of him, the blade pointing at his chest.

"Gimme all yer money and precious items!" the thug sneered as he faced the knife at him.

Unfazed, Nate swiftly swiped his knife at the thug's knife, shattering the thug's blade into several pieces. The thug looked at his broken knife agape, before Nate faced his blade at the thug's necl.

"Gimme all yer money and precious items," Nate sneered, repeating the thug's exact words with a mocking grin.

Fearing his life, the thug dropped his wallet, before running for his life. Nate picked up the wallet, took all the money out of it and tossed it into a nearby dumpster.

"Wonder if she would still like me even if I was like this," Nate mused to himself as he continued his trek. "...Why the hell do I care all of a sudden?"

* * *

"Now then, where else to look..." Rosa mumbled as she took a lick out of her casteliacone that she had purchased.

Rosa had exited Mode Street and began to look around the central plaza, deciding to sit near the fountain standing in the middle. On her shoulder was Eve, who had been eyeing the casteliacone for a while.

"You want it?" Rosa asked her.

"-Uh huh! Uh huh!-" Eve barked.

Smiling, Rosa gave the remaining cone to Eve, who happily chowed down on it as Rosa cooled herself off from the intense heat. Eve rejoiced over the cold treat, and barked happily once she had finished it. Giggling, Rosa gently rubbed her tail, which Eve enjoyed greatly.

"C'mon, Eve," Rosa said. "We need to continue looking."

Rosa got up from her seat and headed for another street, but noticed Nate emerging from a different street.

"Huh? Nate!" Rosa called out, getting the thief's attention. "Nate!"

"Bunhead...?" Nate muttered as Rosa rushed up to him. "You find anything?"

"Nope," Nate shrugged. "You?"

"Nothing," Rosa shook her head. "Wonder how Hugh's holding up."

"Eh, he'll call us when he finds something," Nate muttered.

"I guess," Rosa shrugged it off, before fanning herself. "But man, it's pretty hot today."

As Rosa tried to cool herself off with her visor, Nate took out a bottle of water and tossed it to her.

"Huh?" Rosa asked as she caught it.

"Tried to buy a bottle, and I got two," Nate said as he took out another bottle.

"Thanks..." Rosa muttered, surprised that Nate would give her one.

"I don't blame you," Nate muttered as he fanned himself with his visor. "It is pretty hot today."

The boy opened the bottle and began to chug down the ice cold water, while Rosa decided to do the same thing after snapping out of her thoughts.

"...Hey," Rosa got Nate's attention. "Why did you agree with helping the professor with the pokédex, anywyas?"

"Huh?" Nate mumbled.

"I mean, you could've just slipped away after you were out of their sights," Rosa reasoned. "I don't get why you stayed with us on our journey."

Nate eyed Rosa, before staring up into the sky.

"Eh...I guess it corresponded with my own goals," Nate muttered as he took a chug out of his bottle.

"And those goals would be...?" Rosa asked.

"...None of your business," Nate shot back.

Rosa frowned at the boy, before dismissing it.

"Well, you keep pestering me about Hugh's past, and yet you don't want to share your own," Rosa huffed. "Talk about hypocritical."

"I have my reasons," Nate grumbled.

"If you say so," Rosa said. "...One more question."

"Shoot."

"Why did you start calling Hugh by name?"

"...Because he's starting to warm up to me."

"Huh…?" Rosa asked. "I thought you hated us?"

"I never said I hated you two," Nate muttered. "You two do infuriate me, I'll give you that, but I never actually stated that I 'hated' you two. I just found you annoying as hell."

"Well gee, thanks," Rosa grumbled.

"Hmph...Well at least you two have some redeeming qualities," Nate admitted. "Matis managed to prove his worth and pulled his weight around, and I can somewhat relate to him. And while you're pretty arrogant and don't know your own limits, you still have a goal to aspire for. And that's something to treasure."

"Nate..." Rosa said, staring at Nate in newfound awe.

"...Even if your goal is pretty unreasonable," Nate chided, once again irritating Rosa.

"Of course you have to add in a last-minute snide like that," Rosa huffed.

"Heh! It's gonna take lot more to earn my respect," Nate snickered, before getting up. "Now c'mon."

"Eh?" Rosa asked as she got up.

"Might as well search around together," Nate said. "If Matis does find something, then it'll be a lot faster if we stuck together when we regroup."

"I guess," Rosa shrugged, seeing the logic in his statement, following the boy as he went to another street.

* * *

Vibrava descended down from the skies, returning to Hugh's side.

"Anything?" Hugh asked.

"-Nothing,-" Vibrava shook his head.

"Tch...Nice job anyways," Hugh said, petting Vibrava on the head. "Figures this wouldn't be so easy..."

Hugh looked around, trying to not get sucked into the sea of people that flowed through the streets. Like what Nate said, finding Team Plasma in this was like finding a needle in a hay stack. They had plenty of places to hide; from the myriads of buildings in the city, to even within plain sight by disguising themselves into the people. Finding them would prove to be a hassle.

"Damn it...this city's too big to just leave on its own..." Hugh muttered. "Someone has to be keeping track of it all..."

As Hugh looked around, he noticed a sign. Checking it read 'Gym Street'.

"Gym Street...?" Hugh asked. "Gym...of course! The gym leader! Surely he would know something!"

Hugh looked around, easily spotting the gym. He rushed over to the gym, but found a man blocking the entrance.

"Huh...?" Hugh muttered. "Uh, excuse me..."

"Oh, hey there future champ!" the man exclaimed. "Sorry, but the gym leader, Burgh stepped out for a bit."

"Stepped out...?" Hugh asked.

"Yeah, he said there might be trouble and then took off!" the man explained. "You can go look for him if you want. Sorry."

Muttering under his breath, Hugh thanked the man, before leaving.

"Great, even the gym leader's gone..." Hugh muttered. "Now what do I do...I guess I could get Vibrava to look for Burgh. If I recall, he should stand out fairly well. Hey, Vibrava, you mind–."

Hugh turned to Vibrava, but noticed that he was gone. Looking around, he saw that Vibrava was being fondled by a girl with long deep purple hair tied back with yellow bangles in thick ponytails wearing a long-sleeved yellow shirt with a small pink skirt.

"Oh, aren't you just an adorable Dragon-type~" the girl cooed as she tickled Vibrava.

"-C-Cut it out–Ahaha!-" Vibrava tried (and failed) to endure the tickling and escape the girl's grasp.

Hugh looked at the situation with a perplexed look, before clearing his throat, getting the girl's attention.

"Oh, is this vibrava yours?" the girl asked.

"Yes..." Hugh said as Vibrava managed to pry himself out of her grasp and return to Hugh.

"Sorry," the girl said shyly. "Your vibrava was just too cute, so I couldn't help myself..."

"-Cute...?-" Vibrava murmured.

"I haven't introduced myself," the girl said. "I'm Iris."

"Hugh," Hugh greeted himself. "Sorry, but I don't really have time to chat; I'm in the middle of something."

"Looking for Team Plasma...perhaps?" Iris asked, getting the bluenette's attention. "Team Plasma disbanded two years ago. I'm fairly certain that they would be in the past now. But then again...it wouldn't surprise me if they did reform."

"How did you know that I was looking for them?" Hugh asked.

"Three kids running around asking about a villainous organization that had disbanded two years ago," Iris said. "You three do stand out even within this wide Castelia."

"I see..." Hugh muttered.

"Well, if I were a bunch of suspicious people that needed to hide from normal people, where would I hide...?" Iris wondered, putting a finger to her lips. "Aha! I know! The Castelia Sewers!"

"The sewers...?"

"The sewers are the perfect place to hide from normal people!" Iris exclaimed. "C'mon, I'll lead the way!"

"Ah–wait!" Hugh yelled as Iris grabbed his arm and rushed off to a direction.

Seeing no way out of it, Hugh managed to take out his Xtransceiver and dial Rosa's and Nate's number.

" _Ah? What's up?"_ Nate responded.

" _Hugh?"_ Rosa responded.

"I found a lead!" Hugh told them. "Head for the Castelia Sewers!"

" _The...sewers...?"_ Rosa asked.

" _I guess that would be a good place to hide,"_ Nate muttered. _"Got it. We'll head over there."_

Nodding in confirmation, Hugh cut off the line with Rosa and Nate as he was dragged by Iris.

* * *

The duo reached Thumb Pier, heading straight for the entrance of said sewers.

"Well, here we are," Iris said as they arrived at a lower platform of said pier. "Over there's the entrance to the sewers."

Hugh went over to examine the entrance, when he noticed Rosa and Nate heading for their direction.

"Hugh!" Rosa called out as the two ran up to him.

"There you two are," Hugh said.

"So this is the place," Nate muttered as he eyed the entrance. "This would be a good place to hide."

"Alright, let's get searching then," Rosa said as she headed for the entrance.

"You're not gonna complain about entering the sewers?" Nate asked.

"It's not like we're actually gonna enter the waters," Rosa said. "The future champion can't whine about something as trivial as entering the sewers after all."

Nate looked somewhat surprised, before noticing Iris staring at him.

"Uh...the hell do you want?" Nate asked.

"You look familiar..." Iris muttered. "Have we met before?"

"I don't remember meeting you," Nate mumbled. "So probably not. Chances are you met my idiot brother though."

"Idiot brother?" Iris asked.

"He was the one with the psychotic yandere girlfriend."

"Hilbert?!"

"I like how you instantly linked it to Hilbert the moment I mentioned 'psychotic yandere girlfriend'," Nate laughed.

"Well I only met a few people with crazy girlfriends, and you look a lot like him," Iris commented.

"The fact that you implied you met others with psychotic girlfriends makes me fear the new generation," Nate shuddered.

"Psychotic...yandere...?" Rosa asked.

"Don't ask," Nate muttered.

"So you're his...?" Iris asked.

"Younger brother," Nate muttered. "And before you ask, no I don't know where the hell he disappeared to."

"Oh..." Iris mumbled. "I really wanted to talk to him again."

"Y'know he's taken right?"

"I-I didn't mean it like that!" Iris stammered. "I just wanted to talk to him again, see how he's doing..."

Nate raised an eyebrow at the girl, somewhat not buying it, but shrugged it off.

"Whatever," Nate muttered.

"Uh, Hugh?" Rosa asked him from behind. "Who is she anyways?"

"Some girl I met who was fondling with Vibrava," Hugh muttered. "She brought me here, saying that the sewers would be the perfect place for suspicious people to hide."

Rosa glanced at Iris skeptically, before back at Hugh.

"Seriously, what's up with you boys and meeting girls in strange circumstances?" Rosa muttered.

"Anyways," Hugh said, pushing the fact aside. "We should get going."

"Right," Nate nodded. "Alright you, quit pestering me about my brother whose God knows where. We have idiots to hunt down."

Iris puffed her cheeks in annoyance, but was dismissed by the maverick.

"Alright, let's go," Hugh muttered.

Nate and Rosa nodded in agreement, as the trio entered the sewers.

"Hey wait for me!" Iris yelled as she chased after them.

* * *

Damply dark and dimly lit from the sun from above ground. Filled with a foul odor that came from the muddy waters that filled the passageways beneath the concrete platforms and steel bridges. And full of those GODDAMN zubats and rattatas.

Yep. This was the sewers alright.

The group explored the dark corridors of the sewers, encountering several rattatas scurrying across the corridors, and zubats sleeping on the ceiling. They were careful to go at it rather quietly to avoid waking up the zubats and cause a swarm of them to assault the intruders.

The sewers themselves were like a labyrinth. The group explored the labyrinth of a sewer, searching for any trace of Team Plasma. After an hour or so, they all regrouped near the entrance.

"Anything?" Nate asked.

"Nope."

"Nothing."

"No luck."

"Goddamn it," Nate groaned. "They really are like cockroaches...Is there anywhere else we haven't searched?"

"Well there's over there," Iris said, pointing to the north section of the sewers. "They were blocked off previously by a bunch of researchers."

"How much you wanna bet they were over there this whole time?" Nate asked.

"Seems pretty likely," Rosa mumbled.

The group went down the only remaining passageway that they hadn't gone. At the end of the passageway, light shined down from the staircase that led up to the exit, along with two separating passageways.

"Wait, what's that?" Hugh asked.

They all looked forward. In front of the crossway was a man with wavy brown hair and wearing a light green shirt, a red scarf, and red and black striped pants with a belt with a butterfly symbol on it, kneeling on the ground defeated with a defeated thin, yellow, bipedal insectoid Pokémon who was unconscious. In front of the man was a scientist with blonde hair with a blue strand circling around his head and blank blonde eyes, wearing glasses and a lab coat. In front of him was a large saucer-like Pokémon with a thin edge circling the diameter of its body, and had three eyes; two on the ball additions on the body, with the center housing one red eye.

"Who the heck is that?" Rosa asked, scanning the two Pokémon.

"Leavanny, the nurturing Pokémon. Upon finding a small Pokémon, it weaves clothing for it from leaves by using the sticky silk secreted from its mouth."

"Magnezone, the magnet area Pokémon. Sometimes the magnetism emitted by Magnezone is too strong, making them attract each other so they cannot move."

"Hey! That's Burgh!" Iris gasped, pointing to the fallen man.

"That was an excellent demonstration of battling," the scientist commented, pushing up his glasses. "As expected of a gym leader."

The man shot a glare at the scientist, but cringed from pain.

"Did he defeat Burgh...?" Rosa asked.

"Seems like it," Hugh muttered. "Hey! Who the hell're you?!"

The scientist glanced at the group, his eyes widening.

"Oh, what do we have here?" the scientist asked. "A group of budding trainers...I see you've made it through the labyrinth that is the Castelia Sewers. That's a good feat."

Rosa, Hugh and Iris eyed the scientist suspiciously, but Nate's eyes were widened murderously.

"...Nate...?" Rosa whispered, noticing Nate's sudden change of expression.

Nate growled like a feral dog, his hair even standing up slightly.

"!? You...!" the scientist gasped, noticing Nate.

"COLLLREEESSSSS!" Nate howled, ripping out his two knives and suddenly lunging at said scientist.

"What the–?!" Rosa gasped.

Nate swung his knives fiercely, but the magnezone intercepted him with its magnet limbs, before shocking Nate with an electrical current.

"Nate!" Rosa cried.

Nate, while feeling the pain of the electricity, wasn't too fazed by it, and kicked Magnezone, allowing him to jump back and release Luca, who had already charged an Aura Sphere and launched it at the Pokémon, who shot a thunderbolt at said projectile, causing the collision to explode.

As the smoke cleared, Nate was already in a fighting position along with Luca, while the Pokémon that the scientist had was guarding him.

"...So it would seem that fate is rather cruel today," the scientist said.

The others ran up to Nate, was still in his savage position.

"Nate! What's the matter with you?!" Rosa yelled. "Do you know him!?"

"I guess that's my cue to introduce myself," the scientist said. "I am Colress. I am a scientist on the surface. Underneath it, however, I am the current leader of the recently revived Team Plasma."

"WHAT?!" everyone sans Nate gasped.

"So you got promoted, huh?!" Nate snarled.

"Ghetsis had other things to do, so he shoved the position to me," Colress sighed.

"So you're with Team Plasma...?" Hugh growled, suddenly becoming more aggressive in tone.

"Hugh...?" Iris asked.

"Oh no..." Rosa muttered.

"Indeed," Colress replied. "Although their ideals heavily clash with my research goals."

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" Hugh growled. "Never mind. If you are the leader, then you should know: one of your comrades stole a purrloin from a little girl at Aspertia City, five years ago. Do you know who it was?"

Colress eyed Hugh. He could sense an unfathomable rage from his expression. Colress internally sighed. Rage solves nothing. It only begets unnecessary hatred.

"Boy, I was recently appointed the role," Colress replied. "That incident you refer to happened five years ago. Back then, I was simply a researcher in charge of the groups' technology. I would have no idea who took your friend's Pokémon."

Hugh's eyes screamed pure fury. It was somewhat pitiful, to be honest. No one could possibly know what happened to that particular purrloin after so long. His ambitions were that of a wild goose chase.

Although Nate would be a better example of pure fury.

The boy was hatred incarnate. His eyes housed fury that dwarfed the bluenette's rage. He should know. He was also responsible for 'altering' his sibling, and was an 'accomplice' after all. He should feel revolted for betraying his best friend, and yet, he felt nothing. He couldn't understand why.

Either way, fate decided to have some fun, by having Colress face the younger brother of 'him', and the youngest son of his late comrade.

"It has been a while, Nate," Colress decided to say. "How have you been doing?"

"So you know him?" Rosa asked Nate, while Hugh shot a glare at the brunette.

"I'd rather not be associated with him," Nate hissed. "This bastard was an accomplice to the day I lost my family."

"What?" Iris asked.

"And you wanna know the best part?" Nate went on. "Hilbert Warren's ability to understand Pokémon? That was because he implanted a chip into his head when the guy was only eight! That's right this fucker had no qualms with experimenting on a child!"

"WHAT?!" Rosa and Iris gasped.

Colress had a neutral expression as all eyes turned to him.

"Indeed, while I was tricked into doing so, the fact remains that I went through with it," Colress admitted. "Whether I had my reasons or not, is something that you all wouldn't care about at the moment."

Nate snarled some more as Luca prepared to shoot an Aura Sphere. He proved to be extremely potent two years ago.

"How interesting," Colress pursed his lips as he snapped his fingers. "Magnezone."

In a flash, his Pokémon suddenly lunged at Luca, who jumped back, but was strangely pulled towards Magnezone's magnet limbs.

"-What the–?!-" Luca gasped, trying to break free, but to no avail.

Magnezone unleashed a current of electricity, shocking Luca, before slamming her into a metal pipe.

"Luca!" Nate yelled.

Magnezone let go of Luca, but the jackal was strangely stuck to the metal pipe, unable to pry herself off from it.

"Your lucario is extremely powerful," Colress admitted. "However, I want to see something new."

"What did you do?!" Hugh yelled.

"I simply had Magnezone charge magnetic components into the lucario, and then magnetized her onto a metal binding. Made much easier thanks to Magnezone's ability, 'Magnet Pull'," Colress explained. "She should be stuck there for a while."

True to his words, Luca desperately tried to pry herself off of the metal pipe, but she just couldn't. Clicking his tongue, Nate released Tep.

"-What the heck's going on?-" Tep asked.

"Oh, a tepig," Colress said. "So you did get something in these two years."

As if on cue, Rosa and Hugh released Ottavia and Snivy respectively.

"Very well," Colress said, getting the picture. "You three shall face me. Your starters versus my magnezone. This should prove to be of valuable data."

* * *

"Flame Charge!"

Focusing on the new battle, Tep ignited himself with fire, before charging at Magnezone.

"Flash Cannon."

Magnezone bolted away from ep as its body began to shine in luster. Tep couldn't reach the Steel-type, but Magnezone was able to shoot a blast of luster at the pig, shooting him down.

"Ottavia, Razor Shell!"

As Tep fell, Ottavia rushed at Magnezone with her blue blade.

"Thunderbolt."

Magnezone began to emit a violent current of electricity and shot it at Ottavia. The otter stopped, but was pulled back by Snivy's vines, barely avoiding the Electric-type attack.

"Thanks," Rosa said to Hugh. The boy nodded, before turning to Magnezone.

"Snivy, Leaf Tornado!"

Placing Ottavia down, Snivy lunged underneath Magnezone, and created a twister of leaves, getting into Magnezone's vision.

"Rock Smash!"

In the fray, Tep jumped at Magnezone, slamming his tail onto the magnet Pokémon. While the attack connected, it didn't seem to show any significant damage. Magnezone shot glares at Tep, before catching it with one of its magnets. Magnezone then trapped Snivy with the other magnet, before slamming Tep into the ground next to Snivy.

"-ELIMINATE,-" Magnezone groaned in a monotonous tone.

Magnezone unleashed another thunderbolt, allowing the current to flow into the small tykes and electrocute them. They cried in pain, as they tried to break free, to no avail. Magnezone continued with it, until Ottavia hurled her blade at Magnezone, stabbing it in the eye.

"-GAAAAAAAH?!-" Magnezone cried in pain as it released Tep and Snivy, floating back to recover from the pain.

"Now, Tep! Flame Charge!"

"Snivy, give him a boost!"

Snivy and Tep nodded at each other, as Snviy grabbed Tep with his vines. He spun around and hurled Tep at Magnezone, while the pig ignited himself in flames. Magnezone was too preoccupied with the blade in its eye to notice the bulleting pig.

"Discharge," Colress commanded.

Magnezone, despite the pain it was in, unleashed a flare of electricity around it, shielding itself from Tep, who was blasted by the electricity.

"-Agh!-" Tep winced as he fell.

"-Oh no, Tep!-" Ottavia cried.

Snivy pulled Tep back with his vine to safety, as Magnezone floated to its master. Colress eyed the shell in Magnezone's eye, before prying it out and crushing it in his hand.

"-Ah...!-" Ottavia blurted, witnessing her weapon being crushed.

"Impressive amounts of teamwork," Colress commented as the trio of starters gathered. "You're all bringing out your Pokémon's powers against a foe like myself...astounding. Simply astounding and interesting."

"-What do we do, Boss?-" Tep asked. "-This guy's tough...-"

Nate leered at Colress and his infernal Magnezone. He glanced at Luca, who was still trying to free herself.

"I do have to wonder, is this much potential possible by your bonds?" Colress decided to ask them. "You all work astoundingly as a team; pitting three weaker Pokémon against a much stronger Pokémon, and doing rather well considering the situation. Is it perhaps you all share a bond that brings out this much power?"

Nate glanced at Colress, before snorting.

"Heh! 'Bonds'? With these two?! Oh please, I'm simply babysitting!" Nate scoffed, earning himself the shocked, yet enraged glares from his two teammates. "If I had it my way, I wouldn't even be here. These two are simply thorns on my side."

"And yet, it would seem that you three work quite well, despite your poor opinion of them," Colress pointed out. "If you did truly find them insignificant, then this kind of display would not be possible."

"...Tch, I guess you're right," Nate muttered. "These two, while annoying as all hell, are giving it their all at the task at hand. They're starting to warm up to me."

Rosa and Hugh looked somewhat surprised at Nate.

"But above all, my hatred for you pieces of shit outweigh this so-called 'bond'!" Nate yelled. "We all just happen to share a similar hate towards you Plasmas, which is why we're able to work this well!"

' _Is it truly that, however...?'_ Colress thought.

"As the future Champion, I will be tasked with the duty to protect this region," Rosa declared. "And that means standing in the way of the likes of you!"

"Enough small-talk!" Hugh yelled. "I have a goal to achieve. You're with Team Plasma, and in my way! I'll bring you bastards down!"

"See? What did I tell you?" Nate roared. "I'm not gonna call them 'friends', but I'll gladly say that we're good enough to wipe that infuriating smirk off your face, you goddamn nerd!"

In response, Tep, Ottavia and Snivy stood triumphantly and defiantly at Magnezone, before their bodies began to shine brightly.

"What the–?!" Rosa gasped.

"This is–?!" Hugh gasped.

"Evolution..." Colress mused.

The three Pokémon began to shine brightly and change form, evolving. Soon enough, the light cleared, revealing three new Pokémon. In Tep's place was now a rounder bipedal pig-like Pokémon, with yellow bands encircling his wrists, and swirled yellow designs bulging from his chest. In Ottavia's place was an otter with long whiskers, a pink nose, pointed crest at the back of his head, black fur on his waist where a second shell was held. And in Snivy's place was a slim bipedal Pokémon with a yellow V-shaped collar that extends from his chest to the back of his head.

"They evolved...!" Rosa gaped, as the trainers scanned their newly-evolved started.

"Pignite, the fire pig Pokémon," Nate's pokédex read. "The more it eats, the more fuel it has to make the fire in its stomach stronger. This fills it with even more power."

"Dewott, the discipline Pokémon," Rosa's pokédex read. "As a result of strict training, each Dewott learns different forms for using the scalchops."

"Servine, the grass snake Pokémon," Hugh's pokedex read. "When it gets dirty, its leaves can't be used in photosynthesis, so it always keeps itself clean."

"-ALRIGHT!-" Tep roared. "-I evolved! Now I'm even stronger!-"

"-Th-this is amazing...-" Ottavia gaped at her new body. "-I can feel so much more strength now...and I even have another scalchop!-"

Servine examined his new body, before smirking, satisfied with the results.

Colress looked genuinely surprised. They evolved in the midst of battle, as if to reply to their trainer's ambitions. If this wasn't from the bond of trainer and Pokémon, then he'll be damned to know what it was!

"Alright, Tep, new name! You're 'Nite' until you evolve again!" Nate yelled. "Heat Crash!"

"Show them your new strength, Ottavia!" Rosa cheered on. "Revenge!"

"Snivy–no, Servine!" Hugh commanded. "Leaf Blade!"

Ottavia and Servine lunged for Magnezone with a newly increased speed, while Tep, now Nite, jumped into the air. Servine was the quickest, sharpening the leaf on his tail and slashing at Magnezone; specifically targeting its injured and weakened eye.

The Steel-type cried in pain, giving Ottavia an opening. She slid underneath and smashed her fist underneath Magnezone, causing the Steel-type to fly into the air from the impact.

Ottavia jumped back, as Nite's body burst into flames, plummeting onto Magnezone and crashing into it. Nite jumped off, as Magnezone plummeted to the ground. Having withstood all the punishment, Magnezone couldn't take anymore and plummeted, unable to further battle.

* * *

"-How d'you like that?!-" Nite roared. "-That's what you get for messin' with the Boss!-"

"-Incredible...-" Ottavia gaped. "-We won...-"

Servine simply smiled at the results.

"Astounding..." Colress said as he recalled Magnezone. "You three certainly got my interest now."

Nate, Rosa and Hugh glanced up to the scientist.

"The bond between you and your Pokémon...is that truly the key?" Colress asked. "Well, this is only the beginning. I'll certainly have more time stuck in that infernal association."

Rosa and Hugh eyed the man rather suspiciously, while Nate glared at him.

"Y'know, if they do come back, you're going to become an enemy," Nate warned him. "If I recall, you did raise Hilda after that fiasco. Are you willing to turn your own foster daughter into your enemy?"

"...If the situation demands it, then I have no choice," Colress simply stated. "Something is on my mind, however..."

Colress glanced at Iris, who hadn't participated in the battle at all, and had been silently watching them.

"You...you emulate much more power than you let on, yet you didn't help your friends," Colress commented. "Why is that?"

"I figured these three would be just fine without my help," Iris shrugged.

Colress eyed Iris suspiciously, before suddenly releasing another Pokémon; a large robotic Pokémon with a turquoise, disc-shaped body and four legs, to assault Iris.

"Iri–?!" Hugh yelled.

Before Hugh could even finish, Iris released a bipedal Pokémon with a dark yellow-green covering on its back and most of the front, with large, black and red scythe like tusks. The dragon met the robot's punch with its own blades, before pushing said robotic Pokémon away.

"What in the...?" Rosa gaped as she scanned the two mighty titans.

"Haxorus, the axe jaw Pokémon. Its tusks are incredibly destructive. They can easily slice through a thick, sturdy steel column every time."

"Metagross, the iron leg Pokémon. With four linked brains, it's more intelligent than a supercomputer, and it uses calculations to analyze foes."

Metagross backed off, as Haxorus glared at the robotic spider.

"Impressive," Colress mused. "To take Metagross's attack with relative ease. That haxorus of yours is well trained."

"Thanks," Iris said, not taking her leering eyes off the scientist.

"Well, I must make my leave," Colress said as he turned around the other direction.

"Get back here–!" Hugh growled.

Hugh was about to chase after Colress, but Metagross smashed its fist into the ground, stopping Hugh from pursuing, as it followed its master.

* * *

"Who was that...?" Rosa muttered.

Nate glared at the direction Colress had left, before going over to Luca, who was still magnetized to the metal pipe.

"How the hell did he even do this?" Nate asked.

"-I don't know,-" Luca groaned. "-Just get me down from here!-"

Nate groaned, before grabbing Luca's arm and prying her off.

"-OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!-" Luca screamed in pain.

"Okay, let's try something else," Nate muttered as he let go.

He took out Luca's pokéball and recalled Luca into it. To his relief, Luca was sent back into her pokéball with much ease.

"Okay, so next time, just do that," Nate muttered. "Good. Good to know."

While Nate was doing that, Iris went over to help up the fallen Burgh.

"Hey, you alright?" Iris asked.

"Ngh...Oh, Iris..." Burgh groaned. "Fancy meeting you here."

"What happened?"

"There were rumors of Team Plasma around here, so I decided to check it out," Burgh explained as he helped up his leavanny. "While I was exploring the sewers, I ran into that scientist..."

"And he beat your ass, huh," Nate muttered. "Considering you're a Bug-type leader, and he mainly uses Steels, that's bound to happen."

"So who are you three?" Burgh looked up, seeing the trio.

"These three are new trainers going around searching for Team Plasma," Iris explained. "And get this. This boy over here, Nate, is Hilbert's brother!"

"Really now," Burgh said, intrigued. "Well then, thank you for helping me out at a time like this. All of you."

"Don't sweat about it," Nate grunted. "I had my own reasons. It wasn't like I was fighting to help you out."

"He's not exactly friendly, is he?" Burgh laughed nervously.

"Pretty much," Rosa muttered.

"Well, thank you all for helping me out regardless," Burgh said. "I assume you all want to fight me for the gym badge?"

"Of course!" Rosa exclaimed.

Nate glanced at Nite, who nodded furiously, before sighing and confirming that he would fight too. Hugh simply nodded in response, before glaring at the direction Colress went. Nate noticed that, and glanced at Hugh.

"Well, then come on by to my gym," Burgh offered. "I'll be happy to accept any challenges."

"Are you sure?" Hugh asked. "You're still beaten from that battle you had with that scientist."

"No worries, we went through worse," Burgh reassured him. "Now, c'mon, let's get out of here."

The group, seeing no more point in staying here, all recalled their Pokémon and began to head out for the entrance and their way out of the sewers. On their way back, Nate and Rosa noticed that Hugh was still in a foul mood; it was written all over his expression.

"Still salty that he got away?" Nate decided to ask him.

"He was with Team Plasma..." Hugh growled. "Anyone who sides with them deserve no sympathy. Not my sympathy at least."

"Hugh..." Rosa muttered.

"...Well, don't worry," Nate said. "This won't be the last time we run into him; that's for sure."

"What makes you say that?" Rosa asked him.

"Call it a hunch," Nate said.

Hugh eyed Nate, before glancing forward.

"So," Nate decided to ask Hugh. "You seem to be looking for a purrloin that was stolen from your sister five years ago. Care to explain in detail?"

Hugh glanced at Nate somewhat venomously, before sighing.

"...Five years ago," Hugh decided to explain, where everyone listened in while walking. "Team Plasma stole my little sister's...Val's Purrloin. It had been given to her as a present."

Iris looked shocked, while Rosa had a rather uneasy, somewhat sorrowful look.

"I was only a little kid back then...I couldn't do anything..." Hugh muttered. "So...So that's why I have to get stronger! I MUST become stronger, so that this never happens again!"

Nate listened to Hugh with narrow eyes. Fate seemed to enjoy prodding at him for kicks. Even his backstory strikes a few nostalgic backbones.

"...Was the purrloin special?" Nate asked. "I mean, if it wasn't, then it was just a purrloin. You could simply caught another one."

"...That purrloin was a gift from my grandfather," Hugh explained. "That's the ONLY purrloin in the world that my late grandfather caught for my little sister!"

Oh look, a dead family member. The parallels just keep coming, don't they?

"...You know what you're trying to do is essentially a wild goose chase, right?" Nate asked. "That happened five years ago. Who knows where that purrloin could be right now? It could have been trained to only obey the person who stole if from your sister. The odds that it will even recognize you are abysmal at best."

"I know!" Hugh snapped. "I know that! But...I still have to do this. For her. And for myself."

Nate leered at Hugh. His goals boil down to self-indulgence essentially. Well, he wasn't one to talk, but still; it really didn't matter if it was for his sister. Just being able to put past demons aside would be great for him.

"...Well, at least I know what the hell's wrong with you," Nate said, earning a surprised glare from Hugh. "Seriously, I was wondering why you kept snapping whenever Plasma gets into the mix; when you're normally a relevantly chill guy. Or at least the one holding the leash in this relationship with Bunhead."

"Hey!" Rosa yelled.

"I'll be blunt with you," Nate said, ignoring Rosa yet again. "What you're trying to do is in fact a wild goose chase. The odds of you succeeding are little to none."

Hugh was about to snap at him, but Nate stopped him.

"But," Nate said, interrupting Hugh. "I'll still help you."

"Wha–you will?" Hugh asked.

"That anguish. That sense of helplessness that you felt back then," Nate said without turning to glance back at him. "I can't say that I don't understand it. I have my own vendettas against Plasma to deal with, anyways."

"Nate..." Hugh muttered, touched that he would help him.

"...C'mon, let's get out of this shit hole," Nate grumbled before marching off ahead of the group.

* * *

The group reached the surface, basking in the sunlight that assaulted them upon exiting the sewers.

"I'll be going on ahead to my gym," Burgh informed them. "I'll be waiting."

With that, Burgh left, leaving the four kids to themselves.

"So, we head to the gym?" Rosa asked.

"You guys go on ahead," Nate suddenly said. "I got some business to attend to at Route 4."

"Huh?" Rosa asked.

"Don't worry about it, it won't take long," Nate muttered as he began to leave the group. "Actually, y'know what? Let's go."

"Wait, you're inviting us?" Rosa asked.

"You two are going to follow me anyways like a bunch of moronic stalkers," Nate shrugged, before heading off.

"Wait, what does that mean!?" Rosa yelled angrily as she ran after him.

Hugh was about to go after them, until Iris stopped him.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Hugh asked.

"Y'know, despite what Nate said, I think it's pretty noble of you, doing all this," Iris said.

"Uh, thanks..." Hugh muttered.

"So here!" Iris said cheerfully, handing him a pokéball. "I want you to have this."

"Wha–? Really?" Hugh asked, shocked that he was being presented with a pokéball.

Iris nodded, smiling, as she placed the pokéball into Hugh's hand. The ball registered Hugh as its new owner, as Hugh released the Pokémon inside to see what it was. From the pokéball came out a Pokémon resembling a baby leatherback sea turtle, its body primarily blue with black spots on the edges of its flippers, a black shell with six circular indentations on it, and had a black upper beak and a mask that covers most of its head. It had a rather bored look on its face.

"A tirtouga...?!" Hugh gasped as he scanned it with his pokédex.

"Tirtouga, the prototurtle Pokémon," it read. This Pokémon was restored from a fossil. It swam skillfully and dove to depths beyond half a mile."

"I got this little guy at Nacrene City while visiting there," Iris explained. "But he wouldn't listen to a thing I said, and frankly I think he hates me. Judging from how well-trained your Vibrava was, I'm confident that you'll have a better time with him."

"Are you sure?" Hugh asked.

"Positive!" Iris smiled. "Oh and let's trade phone numbers! You're pretty interesting, after all."

"Uh, okay..." Hugh muttered as he took out his Xtransceiver.

Iris took her transceiver out, and they both exchanged numbers.

"There," Iris smiled. "Now we can talk whenever we want."

"Yeah..." Hugh said somewhat skeptically, still dazed at the sudden exchange and gift.

"Hugh! The hell's the hold up!?" Nate yelled.

Hugh looked over to see Nate and Rosa, impatiently waiting for him.

"Shit..." Hugh muttered. "I gotta go. Well...see ya, I guess."

"Mhm! See ya later!" Iris said cheerfully, before skipping to her own path.

Shaking his head in confusion, Hugh ran over to his two friends, before they headed to Route 4. On their way, Hugh glanced at Nate, who decided to tease Rosa once more, much to her ire. The boy seemed gruff, antisocial, and cold at first. But now, well he pretty much is that. But in a short amount of time, the rogue had slowly, but surely showed a sign that he was warming up to them.

Hugh smiled to himself, as he listened to the two bicker yet again, happy at the progress they were making.

It was a sign of progress alright.

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN:** More characterization! More new characters introduced! And the first evolutions of the series! Hope you all liked this chapter. And aww, Nate's actually getting along with Rosa, Hugh and Yancy. Somewhat. Or at least he can sympathize with them. Anyways, he's starting to warm up to them, so that's a good thing. And then there's Iris, who's taken a liking to Hugh and gave him a brand-spanking-new tirtouga to play with.

Hey i can actually edit this for new evolutions now:

Current Team Roster:

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Nite (Pignite) / Kid (Elekid)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Growlithe)

Hugh: Vibrava / Servine / Magby / Tirtouga

Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the chapter, and as always, look forward to the next chapter. See ya next time!


	8. 08: Old Veterans

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 8: Old Veterans**

* * *

 **AN:** Hey, I'm back from college kicking my ass :D Wait, I'm not done yet? D: *sigh*

In all seriousness though, sorry for the late update. College started, and proceeded to kick my collective ass and taking up my time so that I don't die. I at least managed to finish off Color of Your Soul's epilogue though (if you haven't checked it out yet, please do so), so it wasn't like I didn't go two months without providing something new. But in the two months I've been gone from this story and Fidelity (which reminds me, I need to actually work on that); Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon was released for Japan (which took up more of my time btw), the Smash Poll ended, Persona 5, Star Fox Zero, and among others got delayed (goddamn it), and Zygarde turned into a dog, a cell, and a super robot. You can bet your ass I'm using this in Fidelity. On another note, am I the only one who thinks super robot Zygarde is cool as fuck? C'mon I can't be the only one.

And since I never bothered to reply to any reviews in CoYS, I'm just gonna reply the ones for the final epilogue here (this might contain some spoilers to said aforementioned epilogue. Don't say I didn't warn you):

 **Defender31415:** Thanks. Y'know, you can always follow me if you want to know when exactly the Platinum fic will be published, considering it'll notify you when I make a new story. But still, look forward to it.

 **Anonymous Trainer:** Yeah, that should give you something about Nate's ulterior motives. And at least you get more PoYS today.

 **xQEAx:** Well CoYS may be your favorite story, but it certainly isn't everyone's favorite. I don't really expect CoYS to do that well in the contest to be honest, there's plenty of great stories that're more appealing over there.

 **soraroxas123:** Yeah, I haven't seen any DPP fic where Dawn was a Satanist (don't quote me on that), and considering Giratina's the closest thing we got to Pokemon Satan, I figured the idea was interesting and unique.

 **Knight of Wings:** No worries and thank you! Oh yes, in all honesty I was expecting Hilbert to lose that battle, so I at least made it as epic as possible, even throwing in the literal Deus Ex Machina in there. Hope you had a good feel as to what kind of character my interpretation of Dawn is, and look forward to the Platinum fic.

And now for the reviews from last chapter:

 **Anonymous Trainer:** Nah, nah, nah, Arceus is God. You should know this considering CoYS. So wait, what's Pokemon Jesus then? Mew?

 **I. M. Poik:** Well only time can tell what happens to Colress. Although you did get the bird part right.

 **Tony Anderson:** Gee, thanks!

 **Defender31415:** Thank you! Yeah, I guess that's why you guys like my stuff, because I'm pretty decent at character development. Also at making brutal battles that would probably piss off PETA. Yeah, I like battling.

 **Guest:** So did you know that Hugh x Iris is called 'VileCastleShipping'? I certainly didn't, but then again there're some rather...'colorful' shippings in that list where I found out what Hugh x Iris was called. On another note I haven't seen any Hugh X Iris fics, but then again, I can understand why. Only in this world could such a shipping possibly work.

Oh and you're gonna have to find out whether or not Nate knows. Or cares for that matter.

 **Pale1357:** Hopefully the reply to the guest's review up above answered your question.

 **ProfessorRice:** And apparently so do I! Or at least have a back up plan if Hugh X Rosa doesn't work because of the plot.

 **Senpai bby:** Yeah, Cowlick is a funny nickname.

 **Acethe69th:** Ok first of all, I never abandon something unless I really want to abandon a story, and this story is fun as hell to write; if not one of my more successful stories so far, so don't expect me to just quit. Just understand that my life is trying to murder me, so odds are I'm preoccupied at times.

...Holy shit this is long.

* * *

"Hey remember that one time when I said that last time wouldn't be the last time we run into Colress?"

"Yeah, I remember that."

Currently, the trio were in front of the entrance of Route 4, where they ended up running into a familiar scientist, who was in front of a giant wall of giant cubical rocks that resembled layers of the mantel.

"Oh, it's you three," Colress said.

"Told ya so," Nate muttered to Hugh

"Whatever," Hugh muttered.

"And what are you doing here?" Rosa asked.

"Well, I merely came here to test a device," Colress explained, taking said remote control-like device out. "You three can see the horde of crustles behind me, correct?"

The three kids glanced behind him to see the wall of giant cubical rocks, before nodding to the scientist.

"Good," Colress smiled. "Now, observe."

Colress pushed the button on the remote-like device, where a strange light began to emanate from it. While Hugh and Rosa saw it as a simple light, Nate suddenly recoiled from it.

"Agh...! The hell...?!" Nate grunted in pain.

"Nate?" Rosa asked in concern.

"Right, you have similar senses to a Pokémon," Colress noted. "So you would be able to sense this."

"What's going on?" Hugh asked.

"My machine radiates an energy that vitalizes dormant Pokémon, such as these crustles for example, utilizing frequencies audible to only Pokémon, that stimulate the nerves and rejuvenates them," Colress explained. "Since this was only meant for Pokémon, it would seem that your friend, being a human, is taking some negative effects from it."

Soon enough, the giant blocks began to rumble, before revealing themselves as large hermit crabs using the mantel-like rocks as shells. The horde of crustles then began to converse with one another, before moving out away from the humans. With the subjects revitalized, Colress cut off the machine, allowing Nate to relax a little.

"Ugh, I feel like I'm gonna puke," Nate groaned.

"You know, if I was any less of a humanitarian, then I would aspire to capture you as a prime test subject," Colress commented.

"You sick fuck," Nate growled in disgust. "I should stab you..."

"Which is why I am not some heartless scientist," Colress scoffed. "Although it would be intriguing to see how devices like these that are designed to only affect Pokémon work on you; who are on a similar plain of senses as Pokémon."

"...Again, you sick fuck," Nate snarled.

"Anyways," Colress said, deciding to move along with the subject at hand. "I do believe I haven't gotten your names the last time we met."

Colress faced Rosa and Hugh, who shifted back in caution.

"...Rosa Echoes."

"...Hugh Matis."

"Hm...Very well, I shall remember that," Colress said.

"So tell us, Colress," Hugh said, crossing his arms. "What are you doing here asides from testing out your creation? Plotting to steal more Pokémon from other innocent people?"

"Of course not," Colress scoffed. "Unlike Ghetsis, I don't steal. I obtain my own research materials with my own hands; hand-picked from the wild and returned once I am done with my experiments."

"Yeah right, coming from the leader of Team Plasma," Hugh didn't buy it one bit.

"Like I said before, boy," Colress drawled. "I was only recently appointed the position by Ghetsis. Honestly, he only did that so he wouldn't have to look after them."

"So you're just babysitting them," Nate said.

"Exactly," Colress sighed. "Oh, how I wish to just wring his neck sometimes. Taking my research time away just so that he can do whatever it is that he plans to do."

Nate narrowed his eyes at the scientist. Something was off.

"And what would those plans be?" Rosa asked.

"Unfortunately, Miss Echoes, I am not stupid to just reveal them in my own rantings," Colress said. "Nice try though."

"Alright then, new question," Nate decided to test his suspicions. "What's your motives?"

"Ah, yes, my reasons as to why I even bothered to join Team Plasma," Colress said. "I am a scientist after all. Every aspiring scientist needs a theme to their research. And my theme is such, 'bringing out the power of Pokémon'."

"Excuse me?" Rosa asked.

"Exactly what it says on the tin can, Miss Echoes," Colress said. "Is it possible to bring out their maximum power through the bond they share with their Trainers? Or is there some other, different method? Or perhaps, is there one true method to this madness?"

"Hypotheses upon hypotheses, experiments upon experiments," he went on. "I have tested countless of them, but all have failed to reach satisfactory results. However, I have noticed one trend among my research expeditions. The bond of Pokémon with their trainers."

"The bond?" Hugh asked.

"Yes, the bond," Colress answered. "Coordination, cooperation, synchronicity, trust, confidence, etc. All these elements make up a strong bond between a Pokémon and their trainer. With said bond, the Pokémon thrives to put out nothing short of their best performance for the sake of their trainer. And the trainer executes their commands to the best of their abilities, with trust that their Pokémon will follow through with the best of their limits. I have earlier suggested the possibility of one true method. I believe that it is this bond that is the one true method."

"...Sounds kinda hypocritical, coming from a Plasma member," Hugh criticized.

"Indeed," Colress said. "Team Plasma said we should recognize the potential in Pokémon and liberate them from humans. Plausible, if it were not so ridiculous."

"What's so ridiculous about that, if you don't mind me asking?" Rosa asked.

"Everyone knows that society is built around the cooperation between humanity and Pokémon. They are a crutch to us, as we are a crutch to them," Colress explained. "By separating these two factors, you're asking for both sides to collapse from the inside. Of course, that's what they wanted in the first place."

"So I assume you take the opposite argument," Hugh said.

"Yes, I disagree with them!" Colress boomed, suddenly flinging his arms out for dramatic effect. "Conversely, it should be humanity who bring out the hidden potential in Pokémon! It is the bond between human and Pokémon that brings out a potential that surpasses logical limits!"

Colress took a deep breath, before calming down.

"I apologize, it would seem that, I have 'lost my cool', as they would put it nowadays," Colress said.

"As infuriating as you maybe," Nate said. "Your hypothesis is far from ridiculous. Hell, I think it's the most logical thing I've ever heard from you Plasmas in my life."

"Of course," Colress said. "I have met many trainers who have worked together with their Pokémon to overcome many odds, and bring out a fervent potential. Hilbert, being the shining god to my thesis."

"You mean Hilbert Warren?!" Rosa suddenly raised her voice.

"Yes, the famous 'Hero of Ideals'," Colress said. "With his abilities to understand Pokémon, he and his trusty companions overcame impossible feats, and vanquished Team Plasma once. He is the prime evidence that supports my hypothesis. And in his place..."

Colress faced Nate.

"There is you, oh brother of Warren," Colress said.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Nate asked, crossing his arms.

"While Hilbert able to speak with Pokémon through artificial means, you along with N were able to gain such an ability by yourselves," Colress said. "Could it be perhaps that with a more natural way of communicating with Pokémon, can one further enhance their Pokémon? Surpassing the feats of your brother even?"

"...Y'know, I'm surprised you didn't insert a translator chip inside Hilda," Nate said, not letting go of his glare. "You would've had a more consistent test subject by doing so."

"Of course not..." Colress said. "I have been entrusted with her safety after all."

"By who?"

"By...by...huh...?" Colress murmured, tilting his head in confusion. "Who was it...again...?"

 _So that's it, huh?_

"I see..." Nate muttered. "So you're just a victim too."

"Huh?" Rosa asked. "What do you mean by 'victim'?"

"...I'm not gonna jump to conclusions until I get a full confirmation," Nate told them. "But for now, I think we don't have to worry about him."

"What?!" Hugh growled. "But he's with Plasma!"

"He's clearly thinking separately from their mindset as it is," Nate argued. "The chances of him going rogue are pretty high. He doesn't even hold any true loyalty to them. At best, he's a neutral party."

"But..." Hugh grumbled.

"He doesn't know where your sister's purrloin is," Nate said sternly. "So if you want information on that, then you're gonna have to look elsewhere."

Hugh gritted his teeth in frustration, before calming down.

"...You better be right about that..." Hugh grumbled.

"If I may," Colress said. "While I don't know anything about your sister's purrloin, I do believe I may be able to provide you with a lead."

"What?!" Hugh gasped.

"Aspertia City...yes, now I remember," Colress said. "That was the sight for Team Plasma's first liberation mission, if I recall."

"Who was involved in that?!" Hugh demanded.

"Your demands should be pointed to the Shadow Triad," Colress said.

"Those ninjas..." Nate muttered.

"...It would seem that I have wasted enough time as it is," Colress said, checking the time on his watch. "I should get going. Ghetsis will blow a gasket if I am late yet again."

Colress bowed before the kids, as Magnezone suddenly materialized behind him. The scientist then got onto the magnet Pokémon, as it rose into the air and took off.

"...We're seeing again, aren't we?" Hugh asked.

"Oh, you have no idea," Nate said.

* * *

"So...what do we do about him?" Rosa asked.

"He's still a part of Plasma, so he's an enemy," Hugh growled.

"I'm not too sure..." Rosa admitted. "I mean, yes we can't completely trust him, but his motives...they're completely contradictory to Team Plasma's. And when he mentioned Ghetsis, I couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit of disdain for him."

' _Oh, so control that giant ego of yours and you actually are capable of thinking rationally instead of jumping to conclusions like you normally do after all,'_ Nate thought to himself.

"At best, he's a neutral party, until he does something that would make him look like he's supporting them," Rosa said.

"So he's innocent until proven guilty," Nate interjected, earning a nod from Rosa, before facing Hugh. "And besides, he was nice enough to give you a lead, so at the very least he did help us out."

"...Fine," Hugh grumbled. "But if he gives me a reason to suspect him..."

"Yeah, yeah, go nuts when that happens," Nate drawled. "Now then. Now that that's out of the way..."

Nate turned to the open desert. Hugh and Rosa looked at him, confused as he took a deep breath. Then without warning, he let out a whistle so loud, that it echoed throughout the entire desert. Rosa and Hugh had to cover their ears since they were close to him.

"What was that for...?!" Rosa groaned as he finished.

"Oh, just calling an old friend," Nate said.

Rosa and Hugh looked at him funnily, before a loud squaw rang throughout the desert, getting their attention. They all looked up to see a large, avian Pokémon with dark red feathers on its back and dark blue feathers on its underside, flying towards them.

"A braviary?" Hugh asked.

"A wild one? Here?! I must get it!" Rosa beamed.

"You touch Brav and I'll kill you," Nate snapped at her.

Right before Rosa was about to retort, the avian descended down to Nate, a jovial smile written upon his beak.

"-Nate, my boy! It's been a while!-" the braviary chuckled.

"Yo, Old Man Brav," Nate chuckled. "How's the wild life going for you?"

"-It's pretty relaxing,-" Brav said. "-You on the other hand, you better not be getting into any trouble, young man.-"

"Well, hehe, too late for that," Nate snickered.

As Nate conversed with the eagle, Rosa and Hugh glanced at each other confusedly, before glancing back at Nate.

"Nate, do you know this particular braviary?" Hugh asked.

"Ah? Oh yeah," Nate said, letting Brav face Rosa and Hugh. "Numb nuts, this is Brav, my caretaker."

"You were raised by a braviary?" Rosa asked.

"Yeah, I had a colorful childhood," Nate said.

"-So, since you called me, I'm guessing that it's time for me to join you on your endeavors once more?-" Brav asked.

"Yeah," Nate said, taking out a pokéball. "You can always back out though, I don't wanna overwork you, Old Man."

"-Please, this old coot still has some fight left in him,-" Brav boasted.

"Right," Nate snickered as he tossed the pokéball to Brav.

Brav showed no hesitation as the ball hit him, dragging him into the ball in a red light. The ball dropped, shook three times, and predictably flashed, indicating that Brav was captured. Smiling, Nate picked up the ball, and let Brav out into the open.

"Welcome back, Old Man," Nate said.

"-Good to be back, my boy,-" Brav responded.

"Well, now you have a new member too," Hugh congratulated Nate.

"Wait what do you mean 'too'?" Rosa asked the azure-haired boy.

Hugh glanced at Rosa, before taking out a pokéball and letting Tirtouga out.

"WHAT THE–?!" Rosa yelled, bugged-eyed. "When the hell did you get that?!"

"Oh I got him from Iris before she left," Hugh explained.

Tirtouga glanced around, before spotting Hugh.

"-So, yer my new master, eh?-" Tirtouga mumbled, giving Hugh a gaze-over. "-Meh, not as bad as that girl...we'll just see what yer made of soon enough.-"

Hugh gave him a somewhat confused glance, glancing at Nate for a translation.

"He's curious to see how good of a trainer you are," Nate said.

Hugh looked somewhat surprised, before glancing back at Tirtouga.

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to meet up to your expectation," Hugh said.

Tirtouga nodded satisfied. Meanwhile, Nate decided to release the rest of his members. Nite and Kid glanced at Brav with a slightly confused look, while Luca was ecstatic at the sight of the old bird.

"-Grandpa Brav!-" Luca squealed as she leaped intot he bird for an embrace.

"-Haha! It's good to see you too, Luca,-" Brav laughed as he returned the embrace.

"-Who is he, Boss?-" Nite asked Nate.

"This is our new member, and my old caretaker, Brav," Nate explained. "I want you all to get along. I've been under his care for a good portion of my life."

"-Oh, so you two are Nate's new friends,-" Brav said as he looked down to the two Pokémon. "-Hope the lad hasn't been working you two too much.-"

"-Of course not, Old Man Brav!-" Nite addressed the elder. "-I'm more than happy to serve Boss!-"

"-In all honesty I wish I got more action,-" Kid shrugged.

"-Oh, so we have some rowdy bunches eh?-" Brav chuckled. "-How promising!-"

"Oh great, so you get a braviary, and you were just given a tirtouga like a birthday present, and I get NOTHING?!" Rosa complained.

"Oh quit bitching you," Nate grumbled. "There's a reason why I brought you here."

"What?! What exactly is this so-called 'reason' for bringing me here?" Rosa growled, still angry that her two friends got a new member before her.

"Brav, wasn't there a mandibuzz around here?" Nate asked the eagle.

"-Hm? Oh her,-" Brav said. "-Yeah, she's here.-"

"You mind telling her that she's issuing a challenge to her?" Nate asked, pointing to Rosa. "Knowing a gang boss, I'm sure she won't refuse a challenge."

"-Very well then,-" Brav said as he flew into the air.

"Alright," Nate said as he turned to Rosa. "The so-called 'reason' why I bothered to drag you here with me is because I decided to be generous."

"Generous?" Hugh raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, generous," Nate said. "I don't usually do this kind of charity."

"-Nate boy! I brought her!-"

The gang looked back up to see Brav, now accompanied by a large avian Pokémon resembling a turkey vulture.

"A mandibuzz?" Rosa asked.

"Yep," Nate said.

"-We're here, Mandibuzz,-" Brav told the vulture.

"-I can tell, Braviary,-" Mandibuzz rolled her eyes, before spotting Nate. "-Oh, it's been a while, boy.-"

"Surprising that you still remember me," Nate replied.

"-It's hard not to remember when this old fart keeps mentioning you every day,-" Mandibuzz mumbled.

"I don't see how that's my fault," Nate shrugged his shoulders. "How's the flock by the way?"

"-They all grew up and moved on with their lives,-" Mandibuzz sighed. "-I'm all by my lonesome now.-"

"Isn't that sad," Nate said casually.

"-You aren't much for empathy, are you boy?-"

"I'm not exactly the emotional type, no."

"-Whatever,-" Mandibuzz muttered. "-So? Who is my opponent?-"

Nate pointed his thumb to Rosa, leading Mandibuzz's gaze to the girl.

"-I see...-" Mandibuzz murmured, seemingly scanning the girl with her cold gaze. "-She seems fairly competent. Although looks can be deceiving.-"

"Hey she has SOME potential," Nate defended the bunhead. "Her ego's the only thing getting in her way."

Before Rosa could give out a retort, Nate grabbed her and brought her in front of him.

"That's your opponent," Nate said. "You can catch her, assuming you can beat her."

"Wait, so this is why you brought me here?" Rosa asked. "To potentially give me a new teammate?"

"Didn't I say I decided to be 'generous'?" Nate shot back. "Now focus. The mandibuzz is a seasoned battler."

* * *

Rosa quickly shifted from Nate and focused on Mandibuzz, who was already charging up a Dark Pulse. Rosa quickly sent out Eve, who jumped out of the way as Mandibuzz unleashed the Dark Pulse.

"-Quick instincts...-" Mandibuzz mused.

"Take Down!"

Eve charged at Mandibuzz and leaped for it, but the turkey simply flew above the fox, easily avoiding the attack.

"Rosa, it's in the air! Contact moves are gonna be avoided easily!" Hugh yelled.

The bunhead ignored her friend in favor of her own irritation. Of course she knew that, but it wasn't like Eve had many options to work with. Eve's move set consisted of Take Down, Shadow Ball, Dig and Hyper Voice. Take Down could be easily avoided, Mandibuzz resisted Shadow Ball due to her being a Dark-type, and Dig wasn't exactly the best choice, considering that it was a Ground-type move, and she's clearly fighting a Flying-type. And if Nate was any indication, then this mandibuzz was very experienced, so she couldn't send out the less-experienced Ottavia or Nina, so Eve was her only option. In the end, Hyper Voice was Eve's only mean of doing reasonable damage, but she was sure that Mandibuzz would be able to prepare an answer for it once she knew about it.

She had to play it carefully.

' _I guess I'm gonna have to whittle it down...'_ Rosa thought. "Shadow Ball!"

Eve created a shadowy orb in her mouth and launched it at Mandibuzz, who shielded it rather easily.

"-Hmph! Is that all you can do?-" Mandibuzz scoffed as she swooped down for an attack.

"Watch out!" Rosa warned Eve.

The bones on Mandibuzz's 'skirt' began to glow, before extending into long spikes as the vulture charged at Eve. The fox kept jumping back, avoiding the spikes as Mandibuzz tried to strike her down with them.

"Bone Rush...?" Rosa muttered. "Now, Take Down!"

After avoiding another Bone Rush, Eve pushed back and slammed herself into Mandibuzz, sending the bird back. Eve landed back, suffering from some recoil damage, before shaking it off.

"Are you okay?" Rosa asked Eve.

"-Yep! I can still go!-" Eve barked.

"-Well now, that actually hurt,-" Mandibuzz commented.

"Don't let it escape! Take Down, once more!" Rosa yelled.

Eve charged at Mandibuzz while she was down, but the vulture shot a Dark Pulse at the incoming fox, which she evaded. Mentally cursing at Eve's persistence, Mandibuzz continued to fire at Eve, who kept dodging it. As she gained distance, Mandibuzz shot a Dark Pulse at Eve, while simultaneously releasing a blade of air towards where the fox would land after she dodged it. Eve dodged the Dark Pulse as predicted, but the fox managed to duck and spin as she landed, avoiding the Air Slash while still keeping her momentum.

"-What?!-" Mandibuzz gasped.

With a loud growl, Eve crashed into Mandibuzz, sending her back even further onto the road they were fighting on, as Eve jumped back.

"Hm...Bunhead improved," Nate commented.

"You think so?" Hugh asked.

"Compared to how she did against me, she's certainly learned from that little spar," Nate said. "And she's utilizing Eve's 'Anticipation' greatly in the approach; avoiding Mandibuzz's predicted shots."

"-That girl's quite formidable,-" Brav mused. "-However...-"

"I'm sure that mandibuzz won't just roll over that easily," Nate remarked.

"Shadow Ball!"

Eve charged another Shadow Ball and launched it at Mandibuzz. Growling, the vulture managed to recover and evade the projectile at an alarming speed.

"What?! Where did this speed come from?!" Rosa yelled, shocked that Mandibuzz was MUCH faster than just a moment ago.

"Weak Armor," Nate stated, getting the bun head's attention. "Whenever it gets hit by a physical attack, its defense drops, but its speed gets boosted."

"What?!" Rosa gasped.

"Focus!" Nate yelled, looking back up to the sky. "She's coming in!"

Rosa twirled back to the fight as Mandibuzz charged at Eve at the same blinding speed. The fox didn't see it coming, as Mandibuzz bombarded her with several Air Slashes.

"-Kh!-" Eve grunted as she defended herself.

"-C'mon! Is that all you got?!-" Mandibuzz yelled as she fired off another Dark Pulse. "-What happened to that confidence from earlier!?-"

Eve's fur stood up slightly, as Eve side-stepped to avoid the Dark Pulse, and began to run to avoid the onslaught of Air Slash. Eve tried to shoot a Shadow Ball at Mandibuzz, but it was effortlessly shot down by an Air Slash, leaving the fox helpless from the ground, while the Dark-type was in a much more favorable position.

"Tch, looks like she won't come down anymore," Rosa muttered. "Eve, change of plans! Hyper Voice!"

Eve nodded as she avoided another Air Slash, before letting out a horribly echoed echoing scream, blasting Mandibuzz with the sound of it.

"-Agh!?-" Mandibuzz winced in pain as she withstood the Hyper Voice.

"-That's...quite a Hyper Voice...!-" Brav muttered.

"I guess she was originally saving that one," Nate grumbled, covering his ears. "But then again since the vulture won't come down, her options were forced."

As Eve stopped the attack out of tiring her vocal chords, Mandibuzz managed to recover from the attack, glaring daggers at the small fox.

"-Okay, enough games,-" Mandibuzz declared. "-I'm finishing this now!-"

Mandibuzz let out a growl, as she dived down towards Eve at a blinding speed, becoming covered by a violent blue aura.

"Crap, that's Brave Bird!" Hugh warned Rosa. "Eve won't last if she gets hit by that!"

"I know that!" Rosa grumbled, until an idea sparked in her head. "...! That's it! Dig!"

Not deciding to question her decision, Eve quickly burrowed underground, evading the attack altogether. Surprised, Mandibuzz made a u-turn back into the sky, scanning the area to see where the fox would appear. Mandibuzz then spotted the hole that Eve made, and prepared a Dark Pulse, intent on pumping it with the vile aura.

"Now!" Rosa yelled.

Eve shot out from the ground and behind Mandibuzz while the bird was still charging the Dark Pulse.

"-Crap–!-" Mandibuzz swore as she hastily aimed the Dark Pulse at Eve.

The fox managed to lunge at the bird and cling onto her. The vulture tried to shake Eve off, but the fox clung on for dear life.

"Finish this now! Hyper Voice!"

Still clinging onto the bird, Eve let out a nasty Hyper Voice at point-blank range, blasting Mandibuzz with the horrible sound. Screaming in pain, the bird desperately tried to get Eve off of her for all of a few seconds, but couldn't handle any more of the pain, and began to plummet to the ground. Seeing that the bird was down for the count, Rosa quickly took out a pokéball and hurled it at the falling mandibuzz. The ball smacked Mandibuzz on the head, swallowing the bird into the capsule via a red laser, before dropping to the ground, along with Eve, who fell on her rump after losing something to keep her in the air. The ball shook three time, before it sparkled slightly, signaling a successful capture.

* * *

"Yes!" Rosa squealed in delight, before running over to pick up both the ball and Eve. "We got her, Eve! You were great out there!"

"-Hehe!-" Eve puffed her chest out in pride.

"Congrats seem to be in order," Nate said as the group approached the girl.

"How's that?" Rosa boasted. "I was able to catch that mandibuzz."

"Well, I was expecting you to do that," Nate said matter-of-factly. "I went through the trouble of organizing this fight, so I would've been disappointed if you didn't catch it."

Rosa stuck her tongue out as she released Mandibuzz. The vulture glanced around, recovering from the previous attack, before spotting Brav and Luca.

"-So I lost?-" Mandibuzz asked.

"-Yeah,-" Luca said, seemingly not caring too much.

"-You put up a good fight, Mandibuzz,-" Brav said.

"-I guess,-" Mandibuzz shrugged. "-The girl and eevee were fairly competent.-"

The buzzard glanced back to said girl and eevee.

"-It would seem that I'm now in your care,-" Mandibuzz addressed Rosa.

"You are now a part of my team," Rosa said, as she released the rest of her team. "Let's work together from now on."

Mandibuzz examined the girl carefully. The rather determined look on her face was mixed with an air of pride. She has potential; her coordination with the eevee is proof enough, but she obviously has too much pride. No, more like arrogance. Obviously starting her journey, or was in the early parts of it at least.

"Well, you know Eve," Rosa introduced her team to the mandibuzz. "And this is Ottavia, and that's Nina."

The buzzard shifted her glance to her team. The eevee she had fought, a dewott, and a growlithe. The eevee, she was already familiar with. The dewott seemed fairly timid, judging from her expression and overall fidgeting posture. Despite that, the dewott held a decent amount of skill. And the growlithe shared a similar eager air akin to the eevee. Unlike said eevee, however, this growlithe seemed fairly unskilled. A new catch, perhaps? Oh well.

This was the team she was working in. Somewhat unpromising when compared to Brav, the lucario and that boy, but alas, this was her team. She would have to make do with it.

"-This is gonna be a long road,-" Mandibuzz sighed. "-Oh well.-"

"Alright then, from now on, you shall be called 'Mandi'!" Rosa declared.

"-...She's not very good at the naming game, is she?-" Mandibuzz, now 'Mandi', asked the boy, not impressed by the girl's sense of naming.

The boy simply shrugged. It wasn't like he was one to judge, but then again, names like 'Luca' or 'Nite', were basically meant for simplicity while differentiating. Rosa's sense of naming were a different story.

"-Very well,-" Mandi sighed, addressing Rosa. "-You are my new trainer nonetheless. I guess I'll have to fight at your stead.-"

Rosa stared at her new catch with pride, before glancing over to Nate.

"What did she say?" she asked him.

Mandi face-palmed herself. This is going to be a long road.

* * *

Over with that ordeal, the group returned to the pokécenter to heal their members, and then headed for the next destination; the Castelia City Gym.

"So how're we doing it this time?" Nate asked, before glancing down to Nite. "I'm gonna assume that you still want to fight the gym."

"-You bet, Boss!-" Nite roared.

"-Hold it, I get to fight in this one!-" Kid growled.

"-What?! Why!?-" Nite argued.

"-Because, moron! You got to fight the last one! Also you've been getting WAY too much screentime!-" Kid shot back. "-Now it's my turn to shine!-"

"While I'm gonna assume that this city's gym is Bug-type orientated," Nate decided to cease the argument. "Kid has a point. Which is why, despite having evolved recently, Nite you sitting out in this one."

"-WHAT?!-" Nite gasped, while Kid nodded approvingly.

"Oh c'mon, Kid needs to fight too, y'know," Nate reasoned. "You got enough combat as it is recently."

"-B-But, this is a Bug-type gym, right?-" Nite tried to reason back. "-Surely a Fire-type like me will be useful?-"

Nate then pointed to Brav.

"I'm sure I'll be fine," Nate said, causing Nite to look dejected. "Look, I'll use you in the next one, since you're probably gonna bug me until then."

"-...If that's what the Boss wants...-" Nite sighed in defeat. "-Then allow me to support you by cheering for you from the sidelines!-"

"Sure, you do that," Nate muttered, before turning to Luca. "Sorry, but you're sitting this one out too. You won't have much of a good matchup against Bug-types."

"-Understood,-" Luca said. "-Just don't overwork them. Kid's still young, and Brav is still old.-"

"-I guess this'll be a good time to show what I'm made of,-" Kid smirked, pounding his fists together.

"-You worry too much, Luca girl,-" Brav assured the jackal. "-I still got some game in me.-"

"Just don't push it Old Man," Nate said. "Well, I'm gonna use Kid and Brav. What about you two?"

"I'm going with Nina and Mandi," Rosa declared. "A Fire-type and a Flying-type will make quick work of this gym."

"-Right!-" Nina barked eagerly.

"-I wouldn't be too sure,-" Mandi rolled her eyes.

"Magby and Tirtouga," Hugh informed.

"-Finally I get to do some fighting!-" Magby roared.

Tirtouga simply yawned, somewhat bored.

"Alright then, let's go," Nate said, as everyone recalled their team and entered the gym.

* * *

...And within five seconds Nate wished he hadn't bothered to visit the gym at all.

The gym was huge, and completely covered in silk. Several floors and platforms that reached up to a large cocoon-like dome hanging from the ceiling, with smaller cocoon-like structures on each platform.

"This is some freaking horror movie shit right here," Nate muttered to himself.

"This is the gym...?" Rosa asked incredulously and with much disgust.

"Well...you gotta give him points for creativity," Hugh said.

The trio looked around, exploring the quiet, yet vast gym, approaching a cocoon-like dome not too far from the entrance.

"So, how does this work?" Rosa asked as she approached it, only for Nate to suddenly stop him. "Huh?"

Nate leered at the dome, snarling quietly as he readied a pokéball.

"Something's in there..." Nate warned her.

"Something...?" Rosa asked as she slowly leaned forward to the dome.

As she was about to touch it, the dome suddenly ripped open, as a sewaddle suddenly pooped out from it.

"What the–?!" Rosa yelped as she jumped back, as the cocoon ripped open, where more Bug-types began to flow out of it.

"Oh yeah, definitely some kind of horror movie," Nate grumbled as he released Kid. "Ice Punch!"

Kid sprang into action, creating an icy blue aura around his fist and smashing it into the nearest sewaddle, encasing it in ice, as more bugs began to approach them.

"Yeah I'm pretty sure there was a horror movie like this before," Nate muttered as Rosa and Hugh took out their Fire-types.

"Flame Burst!"

"Flame Wheel!"

Magby spewed a bursting flame at the horde of bugs, as Nina rammed into them as a fiery wheel, engulfing them in an explosion of fire.

"Shock Wave."

Kid rotated his arms rapidly, releasing a wave of electricity at the horde as Nina backed off, blasting them with the electricity combined with the fires left from Flame Wheel. Kid slowly approached the horde cautiously, until he confirmed that the horde was down.

"We good?" Nate asked Kid.

"-Yeah, we good,-" Kid gave his trainer a thumbs-up.

"So we have to do this for all of the cocoons?" Rosa asked.

"Seems like it," Hugh said, examining the opened cocoon. "But how do we get to the upper levels...? Using this?"

"Let's find out," Nate said as he appeared behind Hugh, while Kid appeared behind Magby.

Before they could react, Nate and Kid kicked them into the cocoon. As they was shoved into it, a strange vacuum-like noise came from it, as a large lump traveled up from the strand of silk that was connected to the dome, until he ended up in another cocoon. A few seconds later, a loud tearing sound could be heard from up above, along with several thuds, followed by a scream that the two could recognize as Hugh's.

The two glanced at each other, as they recalled their Pokémon and reluctantly entered the cocoon, where they were sucked in like a cocoon and traveled through the long strand of silk as two lumps, before being thrown out of the exiting cocoon.

"Damn it, you two! Would you help...me...?" Hugh growled as he turned to the two, only to have his jaw drop at the sight.

"Ugh...what the hell feels so soft...?" Nate mumbled. "Where did this cushion come from...?"

"Uh...Nate..."

Nate slowly grumbled as he looked up, to see an extremely flustered Rosa under him. He then glanced down to the 'cushion' his head was resting in, before putting two and two together.

"...I didn't mean to I swear," was all the boy said, before Rosa smashed her knee into his gut, causing the boy to crumple onto the floor.

"Never mention this to anyone," Rosa hissed in a threatening tone, glaring at both Nate and Hugh as she got back up.

"Duly...noted..." Nate groaned in pain.

"Hmph!" Rosa looked away angrily, hiding a faint blush on her cheeks.

Hugh went over to help the boy up, as Nate was still suffering from the pain from Rosa's knee strike.

"You alright there?" Hugh asked.

"...I'll manage..." Nate groaned. "...So I'm gonna assume that there was a horde of bugs waiting for you in there?"

"Yeah," Hugh said. "Took me by surprise too."

"Well I would've been surprised if you weren't surprised," Nate muttered. "So I guess we have to repeat the process with the other cocoons too, until we reach that one?"

Nate pointed to the giant cocoon hanging from the ceiling.

"That would be the most logical assumption," Hugh said.

"Let's just get to the gym ASAP," Rosa grumbled. "This gym is already getting more and more detestable."

Rosa stomped over to the next cocoon, leaving the two boys to follow after her.

"So uh, Matis..." Nate leaned over to him. "How old is she again...?"

"Huh? Rosa?" Hugh asked. "She's fourteen."

Nate stared at him, before glancing back at Rosa, giving the girl an examination with his eyes.

"...You sure she's fourteen?"

"...Yes...?"

"...And you haven't tried anything on her...?"

"What? No...?"

"What're you two blabbering about?" Rosa angrily shouted from afar, leading the two boys to stop conversing and rush up to her.

"...She's at least a C-cup, just to let you know."

"...What...?"

* * *

After at least a half an hour of bug extermination and cocoon travelling, they finally reached the final cocoon. Inside of it was a vast studio, with the floor covered in various colored paint like a faint pond, with several buckets of paint and brushes scattered across the field and strands of silk hanging from the ceiling. At the end of the studio was Burgh, currently painting a portrait. The artist heard the footsteps, and turned to see the trio.

"Oh there you three are!" Burgh said jovially. "So how do you like my newly redesigned gym?"

"It's...creative, for a lack of better words," Nate said bitterly.

"I guess you hadn't have the best time in my gym," Burgh chuckled nervously, sensing the bitterness in his tone.

"You could say that again," Rosa spat spitefully.

"Anyways," Hugh said, intervening between Rosa and Burgh. "Let's just get the gym battle started."

"Alright then," Burgh said. "Well, since there's three of you, and fighting all of you one at a time would take a lot of time, how about a triple battle?"

"A triple?" Nate asked.

"I heard about you three from Roxie," Burgh explained. "While she did a one v one with all of you, I decided to do something different. I'll do a triple battle against all of you. You all get to use two Pokémon, while I can use my entire team. And as for difficulty..."

"Challenge, please!" Rosa exclaimed, all of her bitterness gone for that sheer second.

"Figures," Burgh chuckled. "So this should be interesting."

Burgh stepped back as he released three bug-types; a crustle, an insectoid Pokémon resembling an ant with a steel body, and a large bee-like Pokémon with a yellow and black striped abdomen resembling an elegant gown. While they recognized the crustle, Rosa and Hugh took out his dex and scanned the ant and bee.

"Durant, the Iron Ant Pokémon," Rosa's pokédex read. "Individuals each play different roles in driving Heatmor, their natural predator, away from their colony."

"Vespiquen, the beehive Pokémon," Hugh's pokédex read. "It houses its colony in cells in its body and releases various pheromones to make those grubs do its bidding."

"Well, aren't we upping the ante," Nate said as he released Kid. "So Kid deals with the vespiquen, and you fire-types can deal with the crustle and the durant."

"Sounds like a plan," Rosa said as she released Nina, while Hugh released Magby.

"Well now...let's get right to it!" Burgh yelled.

* * *

"Magby, Flame Burst!"

The battle started off with Magby shooting a smoldering flame at Durant, but Crustle shielded the ant from the Fire-attack with its giant shell.

"Durant, Dig! Crustle, Rock Slide!"

"Ice Punch at Vespiquen!" Nate yelled.

"Nina, Flame Wheel!" Rosa yelled.

As Durant burrowed underground, Crustle formed a large rock in his claws and launched it above his opponents, where it burst, creating a shower of rocks to rain upon them. While Magby was forced to shield himself, Nina and Kid were fast enough to evade it, as Nina formed into a burning wheel aimed at Vespiquen, while Kid followed from behind, Ice Punches ready for attack. Before Nina could reach Vespiquen, Durant suddenly shot out from underneath Nina, smashing into the fire pup with the full brunt of his attack. Kid jumped from behind, lunging at Vespiquen.

"Protect."

Before Kid could reach Vespiquen, the bee projected a barrier, protecting her from the ice Punch.

"-Tch!-" Kid clicked his tongue as he jumped back.

"Flame Burst!"

As Kid fell back, a bursting flame shot from behind, passing Kid and nailing Vespiquen as her barrier dropped. Seeing an opening, Kid lunged at the queen bee as she was blasted by the Flame Burst and smashed an Ice Punch at her, freezing her abdomen.

"-Heh! Nice assist,-" Kid said to Magby, who had managed to withstand the Rock Slide.

The Fire-type in question simply gave Kid a thumb's up, as he redirected his attention to Crustle.

"Earthquake!"

Crustle slammed his claws into the ground, releasing a vicious earthquake, catching everyone on the ground in it.

"Goddamn it!" Nate yelled as he held his balance. "Another bug that's just shaking the earth?!"

"Alright, top priority! Take the crustle down!" Hugh yelled as Magby shot Flame Bursts at the crustacean.

"Durant!" Burgh yelled.

Durant, still wrestling Nina to the ground, hurled the dog towards Crustle, where the dog ended up taking the Flame Burst.

"Nina!" Rosa cried in concern.

"While the Fire-types are distracted, Attack Order!" Burgh commanded, noticing Kid's approach towards Crustle.

The queen bee released several grubs from her hive, all of them flying towards Kid and pelting him with their own bodies.

"-Gah! The hell!?-" Kid yelped as he was pelted by the grubs.

"Shock Wave!"

Kid rotated his arms rapidly, charging up electricity, before releasing a Shock Wave, frying the grubs on his body. Kid then shot another one at Vespiquen, who had to shield herself from the attack.

"Looks like they won't let us," Nate grumbled. "Deal with them first, then take care of Crustle. Ice Punch!"

"Defense Order!"

As Kid lunged at Vespiquen to smash his icy fist into her, Vespiquen called upon many of its grubs, forming a shield in front of their queen, taking the blow for her.

"Damn it!" Nate swore.

"Now, Attack Order–!"

"Flame Wheel!"

As Vespiquen was about to summon more grubs, Kid glanced behind, as a giant wheel of flame came charging straight for them. Kid jumped back, allowing Nina to smash through the shield and hitting the queen. Vespiquen cried in pain as the wheel lit her on fire.

"How did the Flame Wheel become–?" Burgh muttered to himself, wondering how the growlithe's fire attack suddenly became stronger.

"Finish it off! Ice Punch!" Nate yelled.

Kid grinned as lunged at Vespiquen while the bee was distracted, and then proceeded to rapidly smash Ice Punches at it, before finishing it off with one uppercut, sending the bee flying, before it crashed back down, unconscious.

"One down," Nate muttered as Kid and Nina jumped away to avoid Durant suddenly shooting out from the ground below them. "Five more."

"Let's make that two!" Rosa exclaimed. "Nina, Flame Wheel!"

Nina roared as she lunged at Durant in the same giant wheel of fire that overwhelmed Vespiquen.

"Dodge it!" Burgh yelled frantically.

"Hold it still!" Nate yelled.

Right before Durant could get away from it, Kid suddenly got behind him and blasted Durant with a Shock Wave, forcing the bug to defend himself from the attack. While the ant was distracted, Kid jumped back, allowing Nina to crash into the steel ant with her Flame Wheel, scorching the Bug-type in a giant inferno. Once the fires ceased, Durant collapsed, unable to withstand the Flame Wheel.

"Now to deal with Crustle," Rosa said.

They all turned their attention to the bug in question, who was right now shielding himself from Magby's constant Flame Bursts.

"This isn't going well," Burgh muttered. "Shell Smash!"

Crustle's body began to glow a bright crimson, as the bug proceeded to exit his shell while purging the aura as if it was a layer that broke into many pieces.

"Oh this ain't good..." Nate muttered.

"X-Scissor!"

The now shell-less Crustle lunged at Kid at an alarming speed and slashed him with his claws in the form of a X. Kid had to shield himself from the blow, but was being pushed back with little effort on Crustle's side.

"-What the–?!" Kid muttered in shock.

"Help him out!" Rosa yelled, prompting Nina to rush at them.

"You too, Magby! Fire Punch!" Hugh yelled.

Magby's fist was ignited on fire, as the Fire-type charged at Crustle alongside Nina.

"Rock Slide!"

Crustle saw the two Fire-types coming, and pushed Kid back away from him, before bulleting towards the two Fire-types.

"Flame Burst!" Rosa frantically commanded.

Crustle formed a rock in his claws as Nina tried to shoot him down with a large Flame Burst. The crustacean avoided it easily, jumped over them, and released the rock right above, causing a rock slide to form above them. The attack came in much faster, and pelted the two Fire-types with even more power than before.

"-Agh!-" Nina yelped in pain as the rocks did their punishment.

"No Nina!" Rosa cried.

Once the Rock Slide ceased, the two Fire-types fainted, unable to withstand the boosted attack.

"And now we're even," Burgh said, watching as the two trainers recalled their Fire-types. "And that growlithe has Flash Fire, doesn't it?"

"So you noticed?" Rosa asked.

"I was wondering how your growlithe's Flame Wheel suddenly became stronger," Burgh said. "But then I remembered how Durant threw her into Magby's Flame Wheel, so Flash Fire would make the most sense."

"Well isn't that nice," Nate muttered as Kid glared down Crustle. "Now how to deal with this little shit...?"

"X-Scissor!"

"Shock Wave!"

Kid shot a Shock Wave at Crustle as he charged for the Electric-type. The bug jumped over the attack and lunged for Kid, smashing him with the X-Scissor. Kid had to put his arms up as Crustle crashed into him, as the Bug-type pinned Kid to the ground. Crustle tried to break through Kid's defenses, while Kid did his best to keep it up.

"So how do I want to do this...?" Nate muttered.

As Crustle pushed Kid to the ground, the paint ended up drenching the duo, as Kid tried to wrestle out of Crustle's grip.

"...Well, I can't exactly electrocute paint, so this should do," Nate muttered. "Ice Punch!"

Kid got the memo and managed to land the attack at Crustle as it was struggling to push him down. The icy aura began to freeze the crustacean, encasing him in ice.

"-What the–?!-" Crustle gasped as he saw himself getting frozen solid.

"Now!" Nate yelled.

As Kid squeezed out of Crustle's clutches as the bug froze, the Electric-type smirked as he let loose one final uppercut to the bug's jaw, sending him flying. Crustle fell to the ground, unable to fight any longer.

"Yes!" Rosa cheered as she saw the crustle go down.

"That takes care of the first three," Hugh muttered.

"Impressive," Burgh commented as he recalled Crustle. "Looks like I'm gonna have to step up my game."

Nate glared at the gym leader, as Kid put up a fighting stance, ready to face his next opponent. Grinning, Burgh revealed a pokéball and released a beam of light from it, where something darted straight for Kid. Before the Electric-type could process what happened, he felt a sharp pain across his body, before falling.

"The hell?!" Nate blurted.

Standing above the fallen Kid was Burgh's Leavanny, sharpening its leaf-like arms like blades.

* * *

"Welp, there goes that," Nate muttered as he recalled Kid. "You did good Kid. I'm sure you gotten a lot stronger after beating the crap out of so many bugs. Now leave the rest to your friends."

With that, Nate replaced Kid with Brav, who stretched his wings out magnificently. Rosa sent out Mandi, while Hugh sent out Tirtouga.

As Leavanny returned to Burgh's side of the field, he released two more Pokémon to accompany Leavanny; one was a large, bipedal beetle-like Pokémon covered in a blue exoskeleton with a long, pronged horn on its forehead, while the other was a bug with a large pink head reminiscent of a helmet adorned with green stripes.

"Oh my..." Nate mumbled as they scanned the new adversaries.

"Leavanny, the nurturing Pokémon," Nate's pokédex read. "Upon finding a small Pokémon, it weaves clothing for it from leaves by using the sticky silk secreted from its mouth."

"Accelgor, the shell out Pokémon," Rosa's pokédex read. "When its body dries out, it weakens. So it wraps a membrane around itself for protection while it spits poison."

"Heracross, the single horn Pokémon," Hugh's pokédex read. "No matter how heavy its opponents, it flings them far away with its prized horn."

"Well isn't this an impressive lineup," Nate smirked predatorily. "Come at me."

"Accelgor, Focus Blast! Leavanny, Leaf Blade! Heracross, Megahorn!"

Accelgor charged up a blue orb in its arms and shot it at Mandibuzz, while Leavanny and Heracross lunged for Tirtouga and Brav.

"Deal with the heracross and the accelgor," Nate yelled. "That leavanny's mine!"

Mandibuzz avoided the Focus Blast, Tirtouga met the Megahorn with his shell, and Brav roared as he charged at Leavanny, meeting its Leaf Blade with his own talon. Leavanny tried to escape the grip, but Brav proved too strong for the nurturing Pokémon.

"Slam it to the ground!" Nate growled.

Brav obliged, lifted Leavanny into the air, before slamming it into the ground. As Brav flew back, Leavanny quickly got back to its feet and lunged for Brav.

"Struggle Bug!"

Leavanny shot several streams of red aura at Brav, who soared through the stage, avoiding the projectiles and never taking his eye off of the opponent.

"Brav, Return!"

"Retaliate with Aerial Ace!"

Brav went for a dive bomb, bulleting towards Leavanny, who suddenly disappeared as Brav was about to ram into it. Brav stopped midflight, and suddenly shot his talon behind, managing to catch Leavanny during its attack as it reappeared behind him.

"-What?!-" Leavanny gasped.

"-Don't take an old man lightly,-" Brav chuckled as he hurled Leavanny away.

Meanwhile Mandi flew above Accelgor's Focus Blast and lunged at it, forcing the bug to jump back.

"Mandi, Air Slash!"

Mandi shot several blades of air at Accelgor, but the bug kept moving at a blazing speed, making it hard for the vulture to hit her adversary. Clicking her tongue, Mandi kept a close eye as Accelgor zipped around the field.

"-Tch, how pesky...-" Mandi muttered.

"Try to predict where it's going!" Rosa called out.

"-Understood!-" Mandi replied as she shot multitudes of Air Slashes at Accelgor.

The bug ninja kept avoiding them with great ease, predictably. However, this allowed Mandi to see its pattern, and allowed her to shoot an Air Slash at where it was going to arrive upon avoiding her previous attacks. The attack landed, slashing Accelgor with the Air Slash, temporarily stopping it, and allowing Mandi to swoop in for a punish.

"Quickly, Bug Buzz!" Burgh yelled.

Accelgor nodded, jumped back to avoid Mandi, and raised its arms, releasing an ear-piercing noise that blasted Mandi at point-blank range.

"-Agh! Not again!-" Mandi hissed in pain, withstanding the Bug Buzz.

"Now Acid Spray!"

As Mandi was still suffering from the Bug Buzz, Accelgor shot a spray of acidic liquid from its mouth at her, further increasing the damage being dealt to her.

"Mandi!" Rosa cried in concern.

"-Gah!-" Mandi cringed in pain as she felt the acidic liquid burn her.

Before Accelgor could do anything, Leavanny was hurled straight at him. The bug ninja didn't see it coming, as the nurturing Pokémon crashed straight into him.

"-You alright there?-" Brav asked.

"-Tch, nice save, I guess,-" Mandi muttered.

Rosa glanced at Nate, genuinely surprised that he decided to get Brav to save Mandi.

"You were just in the line of fire, I guess," Nate shrugged.

Rosa still felt somewhat grateful for the 'assist', as Mandi managed to recover from the attack and flew back. While the two birds were preoccupied with that, Tirtouga and Heracross were having a test of will, the turtle refusing to yield to the Hercules beetle, while said Hercules beetle was pushing with all of his might to penetrate the turtle's defenses.

"-What's the matter?-" Tirtouga mocked calmly. "-Surely a heracross like yourself can lift a measly turtle like myself.-"

"-I'll show you!-" Heracross snarled, before channeling all of his strength into his horn, before ripping Tirtouga off from the floor.

"-Well now,-" Tirtouga mused as Heracross charged straight at him in the air.

"Close Combat!"

"Get out of there!" Hugh yelled.

Tirtouga glanced at Heracross's charging figure, and proceeded to flip around and perform an Aqua Jet, propelling himself down to the ground and narrowly avoiding Heracross, who turned around and chased after him.

"Now, Stone Edge!"

Tirtouga glanced as Heracross came charging down, and spun to the side, evading Heracross and getting the beetle to embed his horn into the ground in a huge impact. Using the opening Heracross gave him, Tirtouga summoned several sharp stones to emerge, stabbing at Heracross as the beetle desperately tried to get his horn out.

"-Keh! Too hasty,-" Tirtouga scoffed.

"Damn, Tirtouga's good," Hugh whistled as Tirtouga effortlessly toyed with Heracross, despite the difference in power and clear type disadvantage. "Although that heracross has some impressive power..."

Heracross managed to rip his horn out of the ground, shrugging off the Stone Edges being shot at him, and lunged at Tirtouga.

"Meet it with Aqua Jet!" Hugh commanded.

Tirtouga's body was surrounded with water as he tackled Heracross, causing both of them to bounce off of each other. Heracross slammed its arm into the field, getting back on its feet, as Tirtouga landed back onto the ground. The Hercules beetle roared as he lunged for Tirtouga once more. As Tirtouga was about to meet the attack, Tirtouga suddenly sensed something coming from the side, and ducked to avoid a Focus Blast that nearly got his head. Tirtouga glanced over to see Accelgor, focusing on him now, until being intervened by Mandi.

"-Looks like things are starting to become hectic,-" Tirtouga mused as he shot several Stone Edges at Heracross, who deflected them with his horn. "-I better deal with this quickly.-"

Meanwhile Burgh is starting to look somewhat worried. While he had a decent advantage in the first half, things were starting to look poorly for the gym leader. The first half of the battle seemed to be in his favor, having been able to take out the two Fire-types before picking off the elekid with Leavanny, but the three trainers then sent out three much more powerful Pokémon. The braviary and mandibuzz are proving to be extremely capable veteran Pokémon, the braviary handling his ace Leavanny rather easily, and the mandibuzz is slowly but surely figuring out how to fend off Accelgor and slowly whittling it down.

The tirtouga, in his opinion however, was the biggest surprise. From such a small Pokémon compared to its Flying-type partners, it was holding its own tremendously against such a powerhouse that was Heracross; especially with Heracross holding the type advantage. Even if Heracross was a recent addition, it proved to be more than capable to qualify onto his main team.

Burgh snapped out of his stupor as he saw the braviary smash Leavanny onto the ground, grasping the poor bug's head in his talon, while the mandibuzz managed to pin Accelgor down with Bone Rush.

"You wanna end this now?" Nate asked Rosa.

"Let's," Rosa agreed.

"BRAVE BIRD!"

Brav and Mandi nodded in response as they soared up into the air, before descending at a blinding speed, until both birds of prey were covered in a fiery and violent blue aura. Leavanny was struggling to get back up due to the head trauma induced to it, while Accelgor was busy trying to pry the bones that were pinning him down out of the ground. The two bugs were unable to avoid the birds as they crashed through them, blasting them onto the walls while the birds soared back into the air, suffering from the recoil of their moves. The bugs couldn't withstand attacks of such intensity, and were unconscious.

"And now, one left," Nate said as Brav returned to his side.

"How's everything over there, Hugh?" Rosa called out to him.

"Working on it!" Hugh yelled back as Tirtouga ducked under a horn strike from Heracross.

"Heracross, we need to end this now!" Burgh yelled. "Close Combat!"

Heracross roared in anger as he lunged at Tirtouga. Tirtouga withdrew into his shell, as the Hercules beetle proceeded to lash out on it with a series of violent punches, kicks and horn strikes. Once Heracross finished, the beetle was panting, while Tirtouga came out of his shell, somewhat weary from withstanding the attack.

"Thank Arceus for Solid Rock..." Hugh muttered. "Now! Stone Edge!"

Tirtouga leered at the beetle as he used Heracross's opening as a distraction to shoot several Stone Edges at him. Heracross couldn't react in time, and ended up taking the full brunt of the attack, being blasted away from Tirtouga. The beetle fell on his back, unable to battle any more.

* * *

"And that's that," Nate sighed as Brav returned to his side.

"-As expected, Nate my boy,-" Brav chuckled.

"Yes! We won!" Rosa cheered as Mandi returned to her side. "You did great, Mandi!"

"-Not bad, girl,-" Mandi complimented her trainer.

Hugh simply sighed in relief, as Tirtouga made his way back to his trainer.

"-Hm...Not bad,-" Tirtouga mused at his trainer.

"Well, that was intriguing," Burgh sighed. "I can't believe how poorly the second half of the battle became for me."

"Hey, we just had the type advantage on our side is all," Nate tried to comfort the gym leader and his hurt pride.

"Regardless, the fact was that I lost to you three," Burgh said. "You three have some well-trained Pokémon. They were phenomenal in battle. I guess it was no surprise that I lost."

Brav and Tirtouga puffed up their chest in pride, while Mandi simply smirked at the compliment.

"With trainers like you, the future looks promising," Burgh said as he reached into his bag and took out three badges and three discs.

"The Insect Badge," Burgh explained as he handed the rewards to them. "That's the third badge you're going to need if you plan to qualify for the Pokémon League. And the TM contains Struggle Bug."

"Thanks," Nate muttered as they accepted it. "So, where now?"

"The next gym is in Nimbasa," Rosa explained. "Which is the next town after going through Route 4."

"Ooh, then you're going to have to face Elesa," Burgh said. "I'd best be careful, she's one tough Electric-type trainer after all."

"No worries," Rosa scoffed. "At this rate, we'll vanquish all the gyms with ease!"

Mandi rolled her eyes at the obvious arrogance in her trainer's words, clearly not impressed by them at all.

"Oh yes, it's not because you had a strong Flying-type that you managed to win against Burgh with ease," Nate drawled, the sarcasm dripping from his tone. "Oh no, it's totally your flawless skills that pulled you through."

"Hey, can it!" Rosa shot back.

"-Please tell me this is temporary,-" Mandi almost begged to Brav as she watched as the two humans began to bicker again.

"-Hahaha, I don't see the problem,-" Brav laughed jovially. "-It's nice to see Nate making new friends outside of Luca after all.-"

While the two were bickering, Hugh approached Burgh.

"You mind if I ask where you got that heracross?" Hugh asked.

"Oh? Interested in recruiting a magnificent Bug-type into your party?" Burgh asked with interest. "Heracrosses are found living in the Lostlorn Woods, not too far from Nimbasa. I caught mine over there too."

"The Lostlorn Woods, huh..." Hugh muttered. "Alright, we can make a quick stop there, before going to the gym."

"Sounds like a great plan," Burgh said. "So...how long are they gonna...?"

Burgh pointed to Nate and Rosa, who were still arguing.

"...Give it a minute or few."

* * *

Having no more business with Burgh, the trio left the gym andheaded back to the pokécenter to heal up their team.

"So, Nimbasa, huh..." Nate muttered, before a greedy smirk plastered onto his face. "Ooh, I could totally make a killing there..."

"You better not be thinking about stealing people's money over there," Rosa reprimanded Nate.

"What? Of course not," Nate said in mock innocence, earning a disbelieving stare from Rosa. "It's not stealing, if you don't get caught."

"Oh my Arceus..." Rosa grumbled disapprovingly, before changing the subject. "So, Hugh, you said you wanted to go get a heracross?"

"Yeah," Hugh said. "A member like that would definitely prove to be useful. Bug/Fighting would really help me out."

From his pokéball, Tirtouga was already aware of Hugh wanting to recruit a heracross into his party. The turtle didn't really have much of a good opinion of the species, considering the one he fought today was a complete letdown, but then again, the turtle was revived rather recently.

' _-I guess it's quick to judge-,'_ Tirtouga mused.

Perhaps the heracross that Hugh will add to his party won't be a simpleminded wrecking ball, like his previous owner. Champion or not; the girl was rather simpleminded in regards to her tactics, much to the turtle's chagrin and annoyance. The boy, on the other hand, was already proving to be far more complex than her.

"Well, we can always go now," Hugh said. "But it's getting pretty late, so let's head to Nimbasa tomorrow."

Nate and Rosa both agreed with Hugh, so the vote was unanimous. As the group was about to head back into the pokécenter, Nate's Xtransceiver began to ring. Noticing it, Nate looked at it, to see Yancy calling him yet again. Rosa and Hugh glanced back to Nate, but the boy gestured them to go on ahead. As the two shrugged and left, Nate answered the call.

"Yo," Nate answered.

" _Ah, Nate!"_ Yancy replied happily. _"You answered..."_

"Well, no duh," Nate chuckled. "So? What's up?"

" _Oh, nothing really, I just wanted to talk,"_ Yancy said, fidgeting with her fingers. _"So...how did the search go?"_

"Oh that? Yeah, we found something," Nate said offhandedly.

" _Really?"_

"Yeah. Don't worry about it, not much happened really."

Well, fighting a scientist and his giant floating magnet spaceship thing wasn't much to Nate.

" _Oh ok then..."_ Yancy said. _"You weren't hurt or anything though, right?"_

"Nah, I'm fine," Nate assured her. "Oh by the way, how's that audino doing?"

" _Oh, Audi's doing fine,"_ Yancy replied. _"She's growing real strong!"_

"Is that so?" Nate asked, amused. "Then maybe next time I'll have to see just how strong your Audi's become."

" _I guess,"_ Yancy giggled. _"So, where are you headed next?"_

"Huh? Oh yeah, we're headed to Nimbasa now," Nate said, causing Yancy to stiffen.

" _N-Nimbasa...?"_ Yancy asked.

"Hm? Yeah," Nate said, noticing how Yancy reacted. "Something the matter?"

" _O-Oh nothing, really..."_ Yancy stuttered. _"O-Oh! My colleague's calling me! I gotta go!"_

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'll catch you later then," Nate muttered.

" _Uh huh...bye bye..."_ Yancy hastily replied, ending the call.

Nate stared at the blank screen, before heading back into the pokécenter. Entering the lobby, he looked around, until he found a group of people, seemingly gossiping about something.

"So is it true? Is Nancy really gonna hold a concert at Nimbasa tomorrow?!"

"It's true! We need to go to that concert!"

"But tickets are sold out..."

"But nothing! We MUST get into that concert! Our idol Nancy is performing!"

"...Hey you guys," Nate said, getting the group's attention. "You mind telling me who this 'Nancy' is?"

"You don't know _Nancy_!?" one of the men gasped. "That's impossible! She's Unova's sweetheart! I mean look how drop-dead gorgeous she is!"

"Well, apparently I'm capable of the impossible then," Nate rolled his eyes. "So you mind educating me on this subject?"

"Very well then," another man said. "Nancy is a celebrity idol; recently started two years ago, and is currently one of the most popular, if not THE most popular idol in all of Unova right now. She's all the rage in Unova!"

' _Uh huh...'_ Nate thought, until he spotted a magazine that one of the men were holding. On the front cover was a girl; seemingly an idol singer; with long bubblegum-pink hair put up into a curly side ponytail with light blue ends going onto the right. Outside of the different hairstyle and pop idol outfit, the girl looked strikingly similar to Yancy.

"Celebrity Pop Idol Nancy huh..." Nate muttered. "And her concert is tomorrow at Nimbasa, you say?"

"That's right," another guy said.

"...Thanks for the info," Nate dismissed them as he headed back to the rooms upstair.

The resemblance was uncanny. He wouldn't be surprised if Yancy was Nancy, considering that she was friends with Unovan rock star Roxie, and that she had complete access to Pokéstar Studios. Oh well. He would find his answers in Nimbasa tomorrow, if this 'Nancy' was holding a concert there tomorrow.

"Tomorrow...huh..." Nate muttered, before remembering something. "Ah."

Right. Tomorrow. More specifically, tomorrow night.

"I need to meet up with him in the Entralink tomorrow night."

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN:** I totally didn't forget about Nate's meeting with his 'employer'. Nope, totally didn't lose track of how many days it was in that setting, nope. But regardless, expect something like that to happen next chapter. And so our whimsical group makes Nimbasa their next destination, with Hugh wishing to add a heracross onto his team, Rosa aspiring to take down Elesa, and Nate, suspecting that little Yancy is teen celebrity idol Nancy. While this part was supposed to be a secret until like after thirty something calls in the actual games... C'mon now, you seriously think Nate's the type of guy to NOT notice that they're the same person when given enough evidence? I think I've proven enough that Nate's smarter than the average thug.

And in my opinion, the gym battle's kinda sub par compared to the other gym battles, but then again, I did also squeeze in a wild battle with Rosa vs Mandi, and then again Nate's group was armed with powerful Flying-types and a turtle. Compared to the first half of the gym battle, with three baby Pokemon versus Burgh's team, the results would be more one-sided in Nate's group's favor. Hopefully it was still enjoyable.

And now time to update the team roster:

Current Team Roster:

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Nite (Pignite) / Kid (Elekid) / Brav (Braviary)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Growlithe) / Mandi (Mandibuzz)

Hugh: Vibrava / Servine / Magby / Tirtouga

And in developing news on my stories; the Platinum fic finally has a title: "Platinum Witch", and is in progress, I'm planning to remake an old BlazBlue fic, and currently developing a new BlazBlue story, and CoYS is in a fanfic contest.

Now, time to work on Fidelity-what? It's 1:30 AM? Oh shit I should go to sleep shouldn't I? Yeah, I'm out. Once again, I apologize for taking so long, and I'll try my best to work faster. Just please understand. Life is a bitch.

Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the chapter, and as always, look forward to the next chapter. See ya next time!


	9. 09: Unova's Sweetheart, Nancy

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 9: Unova's Sweetheart, Nancy**

* * *

 **AN:** Alright before hand, I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. Also you could probably tell by the title that this is gonna be majorly transceivershipping, so yeah heads up. Alright to the reviews:

 **I.M Poik:** Well thanks friend and congratulations on ya for predicting right :D

 **Tony Anderson:** Thanks friend :)

 **Defener31415:** Oh...well shit. Didn't think that one through. Sorry for spoiling that Yancy = Nancy for you :P Hopefully this makes it up as I rip apart the pretense of that spoiler into many pieces.

 **Guest:** Glad you like the visorshipping parts/Nate and Rosa starting to warm up to each other. Not sure if this will be your cup of tea though, considering it'll be majorly transceivershipping.

 **ne-kun:** Glad you like the story so far, and glad you like how I portrayed Calem and Dawn.

 **Eris:** Well welcome aboard new reader! Hopefully I meet your future expectations on PoYS and hope you continue to like it. Although I highly recommend you read CoYS first, since PoYS is a direct sequel to that. It'll clear up a few things that may confuse you (particularly the blood knight Keldeo and Colress). And glad you don't mind who I end up pairing Nate with, while I do see why you would favor visor over transceiver. And you are right: Shadow Ball has a chance to lower the of the target. You could consider that being a factor that helped Eve win against Mandibuzz.

 **Knight of Wings:** Yeah the starters in-game do usually evolve around the second gym anyways. In terms of team dynamics, hopefully this chapter will suffice.

 **Aquille:** Well glad you like PoYS. Although, the fact that you responded to what I said in the AN in chapter 5 claiming that it wasn't true, when I didn't specify _anyone to begin with,_ kinda just blew your cover and gave everyone a clear answer to who I was referring to now. I'm not saying whether it's true or not, but the fact remains that now the readers can now easily just go back to CoYS, go through the reviews and see the reviews you left and see for themselves what I was talking about because you gave them a name to look for now. And in my opinion, your initial reviews weren't exactly 'motivating' and had an aggressive undertone in them when you 'asked' me to update CoYS, to the point where someone else actually reacted to one of your reviews within the reviews.

Alright let's get this going.

* * *

The heracross species are a species of proud warriors, very protective of their habitat that was the Lostlorn Forest. Never will they back down from a challenge, and will exert all of their strength and combating prowess to answer said challenge; no matter the stakes. Even against the likes of a Flying-type, they will do their best to heed the call of battle, even if it leads to impending doom. With their impressive techniques and unparalleled strength, no matter who the opponent is, the heracrosses will never go down without putting up a great fight.

Now, just because they are a proud race of Herculean beetle fighters, that does not excuse them for letting arrogance to cloud their decisions and lead them to underestimate their foes. No matter who they are facing, they must never underestimate their foe, less it shall be their downfall. That was what happened to that one heracross who was challenged by that one trainer who screamed flamboyancy to the nth level, along with his leavanny, who proceeded to make the beetle into a fool and capture him.

That was something Heracross did not want to happen to him. Should he ever get captured, it would be against a trainer and Pokémon who truly deserved the catch, and it would be after he fought to his very best.

That is the law that Heracross was taught his life. And he followed their practices of morale and honor to the dot. Even if his current opponent was a Grass-type, he must not underestimate him.

However, even the Hercules beetle had to admit, he was starting to get SERIOUSLY ANNOYED by the snake constantly avoiding his attacks and stalling him out with the continuous drain from an earlier Leech Seed.

The heracross was currently fighting against a servine owned by a rather angry-looking trainer with hair that reminded Heracross of a qwilfish, while the boy's two companions; a rather arrogant, yet admittedly attractive, girl with the strangest kind of ponytails and another boy who smelled like a Pokémon and even knew what he was saying, went to explore the forest.

Now back to the battle. Seeing that simply rushing in and attacking isn't doing him much favors, Heracross decided to try and lure the servine in. The beetle lunged forward recklessly, hoping to catch the servine in a false sense of security. Fortunately for Heracross, Servine fell for the bait, and easily jumped to the side. Heracross used the opportunity and flung his horn to where Servine jumped, managing to score a clean hit.

"Servine!" the trainer cried as Servine crashed into a tree.

Heracross grinned, before lunging forward, not wanting to let the snake do anything else. Servine quickly recovered and met the beetle's horn with a Leaf Blade. Heracross managed to push Servine away, but fell on his knees; the Leech Seed that was on him straining him and making him exhausted.

Unfortunately for him, both the blue-haired trainer and the servine noticed as well, with the trainer ordering Servine to go in for the assault. Exhaustion got the better of him, as Servine managed to land a clean hit against his head, flinching him long enough for the trainer to hurl a pokéball at Heracross, trapping the Herculean beetle inside the device for capture. Inside the ball, Heracross tried his damnedest to break out, but he was simply too exhausted, and allowed himself to get captured. The trainer didn't seem too bad, though. The servine proved to be a great adversary to fight against.

Maybe this trainer would be able to help him become even stronger.

* * *

"Finally," Hugh sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Managed to catch a heracross."

Servine sighed in relief as well as he slithered around Hugh's leg.

"Nice work, Servine," Hugh said to the snake, before releasing Heracross. "Now as for you. We need to get you healed."

Heracross glanced up to Hugh as he took out a super potion and sprayed Heracross's wounds with them.

"The name's Hugh by the way," Hugh introduced himself to Heracross. "You're a part of my team now. Let's get along."

Heracross stared at Hugh critically, before nodding in response and putting out his claw. Hugh smiled, before accepting the gesture into a handshake. Hugh then took out his other pokéballs and released the rest of his team.

"Alright you all," Hugh said. "This is our new teammate, Heracross. Get along."

Vibrava, Magby and Tirtouga gathered around Heracross and Servine.

"-Well, nice to meet you,-" Vibrava said.

"-Yeah, nice to meet ya!-" Magby exclaimed,

Heracross nodded, before glancing down to Tirtouga, who seemed to be examining him.

"-Hm...Another heracross...-" Tirtouga muttered.

"-And is that a problem?-" Heracross asked rather cautiously.

"-No, sorry,-" Tirtouga shook his head. "-It's just I fought a heracross before, and he was somewhat of a letdown. Hopefully you'll be much better.-"

Heracross leered at Tirtouga, slightly offended at the turtle's words. Before the beetle could retort, he felt something on his shoulder. Heracross turned to see Servine; his vine on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. The snake shook his head.

"-You...-" Heracross muttered.

"-Oh yeah, he can't speak, just a heads up,-" Vibrava said.

Heracross glanced at Vibrava, before glancing back at Servine. The snake simply smiled back.

"-...You're pretty impressive,-" Heracross stated. "-Must be hard not being able to speak.-"

Servine didn't seem to be fazed at all; simply smiling at Heracross. Hugh glanced at his team. Vibrava and Magby seemed to be accepting of Heracross as it is, but he could tell there was tension between Tirtouga and Heracross. That was something he'd have to fix soon, if he wanted everyone to cooperate smoothly.

Hugh looked around, taking in the view of the forest. Nate and Rosa had split up to explore the other parts of the forest. Hugh wondered how they were doing.

* * *

Rosa split the oran berry in half and gave the two halves to Eve and Ottavia, who accepted the berry halves and happily chowed down on them.

"How are they?" Rosa asked, where the two nodded happily, clearly enjoying the berry. "Well that's good. This forest has some good berries."

The bun-haired girl smiled as she looked around. She was currently resting near a clean stream, where she decided to have a lunch break. Fortunately, the forest was chock full of fresh berries that she could use to eat. Eve and Ottavia were eating their oran berries happily along with Nina, while Mandi was silently eating away at her own berry, watching over the group.

"-This is great!-" Eve squealed as she gulped down her oran berry.

"-Yeah, it's nice to just relax like this for once,-" Ottavia admitted.

"-Uh huh!-" Nina barked.

"-You're all too easy-going,-" Mandi sighed. "-But, I guess this is nice.-"

"-C'mon, don't be a stick in the mud,-" Nina barked. "-We're on a roll! We beat three gym leaders, two on Challenge Mode or whatever the heck that is at that!-"

"-Although I don't know how she managed on the first one,-" Mandi countered. "-She only managed to win the last one due to the type advantage you and I gave her. In a neutrality, I highly doubt it would've been any easier.-"

They all glanced at Mandi, who sighed as she plucked at her berry.

"-Look, I'm not trying to dampen the mood or anything...although I'm sure I'm a bit too late at that,-" Mandi said. "-But you all need to face reality. Eventually we will face an opponent we won't be able to handle and lose. It's up to the girl to see how she'll take in the reality of the world.-"

"-Rosa won't lose! She's the greatest!-" Eve barked at Mandi.

"-Hardly,-" Mandi rolled her eyes. "-It's quite obvious that the boys are much more skilled than her, yet she holds the biggest ego. At this rate, she won't take losing that well.-"

"-She won't lose!-" Eve growled at Mandi, offended by her slanders towards Rosa.

"-Oh? Then can you take on Vibrava? Pignite? Servine? Or will you test your luck against Lucario or Braviary?-" Mandi challenged.

Eve backed down slightly, a sweat drop rolling down her forehead. Even she knew she would struggle against them.

"-Look, I'm not saying that she's weak or anything,-" Mandi said. "-I'm just saying that eventually we will lose, and the girl needs to be able to take it along with the resulting strike to her pride.-"

Rosa looked somewhat worried at her team, being able to tell that the tension was high. Fortunately Mandi managed to calm everyone down, relieving Rosa as she took a bite out of a somewhat large pecha berry.

Their next stop was back to Nimbasa City, where they would take on the gym leader Elesa. Unova's famous supermodel and one of the region's role models to women everywhere, along with Unova's sweetheart idol, Nancy. A strong, yet kind and compassionate woman...truly a great person to look up to for women everywhere.

If she recalled, Elesa's gym consisted of Electric-types. That would prove to be quite difficult. Ottavia and Mandi would be at a disadvantage against the type, and Nina and Eve wouldn't fare too well either. Her only means of fighting back effectively were Eve's Dig and Mandi's Bone Rush, which would definitely not be enough to fight Elesa on Challenge. Hopefully with support from Vibrava and Luca would suffice.

"...Speaking of which, didn't Nancy have a concert at Nimbasa today?" Rosa offhandedly recalled.

Maybe she'll visit it after she took on Elesa, if it was still going on. While she did respect Nancy for being a role model to women–more specifically girls around her age, her goals prioritized over fandoms.

* * *

Nate simply stared up into the clear skies, in the deepest ends of the Lostlorn Forest. He had let his team out to relax, get some exercise, and allowed them to explore the forest, specifically telling them to give him some alone time for a while.

At least that's what he told them to do, but apparently he still didn't have full authority over Brav, who was content with sitting beside the boy.

"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone, Old Man?" Nate asked.

"-Oh please, you said we could do whatever we wanted,-" Brav huffed. "-And frankly, you're still too young to be bossing me around outside of a battle or few. I still did raise you, y'know.-"

"And while I'm grateful, I'd still like it if my Pokémon at least listen to when their trainer want some alone time," Nate shot back, unfazed.

Brav didn't budge, so Nate sighed in defeat as he simply laid flat on the ground, aimlessly watching the clear skies.

"-...Y'know, boy,-" Brav said. "-You do seem to get along with the other kiddies...what were their name again...? Right, Rosa and Hugh.-"

"...What, you think I'm a loner?" Nate asked.

"-I'm just saying that I'd never thought I see the day you would make human friends,-" Brav mused aloud. "-And while you three seem to have your fair share of spats, especially with the girl, you seem to secretly enjoy their company.-"

Nate said nothing. As expected of the old man; he always manages to find a point. Sure those two idiots do tend to drive his nerves at times, but after the few days he was stuck with them, the two slowly began to warm up to him. Honestly, he didn't feel annoyed by them anymore. Sure they make stupid mistakes at times, and Bunhead's ego was still as large as a wailord, but they're learning. They seem to legitimately care for him. He could relate with Matis, and he had to admit, messing with Bunhead was genuinely fun, and the girl was indeed learning from her mistakes. She wasn't as big of an arrogant blowhard as initially back at Aspertia.

Of course he'd never admit it to them, but the fact was still there.

"What're you getting at though...?" Nate asked.

"-I'm just wondering...you're starting to enjoy yourself a lot more than before now,-" Brav inquired. "-Maybe it's even enough to–.-"

"Stop," Nate said firmly. "I'm not gonna just up and quit just because I managed to make a few friends. I've already gone this far. Turning back would just be an insult to me and all the effort I invested in the past three years, it would be an insult to him, who entrusted me with the job in the first place, and most importantly, it would be an insult to Luca, after everything she's been through in the past three years."

Brav had a rather sad look on his face as Nate's gaze hardened.

"-...Just promise me you won't regret your decisions, boy,-" Brav said.

"...Of course not, Old Man," Nate said, his gaze softening a little.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Nate and Brav looked up to see a backpacker standing above them. Nate shrugged, signaling the backpacker to sit wherever she pleased. Delighted, the woman sat next to him.

"Wonderful weather, huh?" the backpacker asked. "Perfect, calm, and clear for a forest like this, don't ya think?"

"Yeah, I guess," Nate said plainly. "So, what brings you to this dead end forest, anyways?"

"I'm a traveler," the backpacker replied. "I enjoy trekking around the world and talking with various people. What about you?"

"I was dragged here by my travel partner, who wanted to catch a heracross."

"I see," the backpacker said. "By the way, do you know a Pokémon called 'Zoroark'?"

"I've heard of it," Nate shrugged.

"Great!" the backpacker smiled. "Are you armed with the knowledge so that it won't trick you?"

"More or less."

"I see..." the backpacker said. "...A penny for your thoughts. What do you think would be better? To trust it and be tricked, or to live in doubt?"

"...Depends," Nate replied. "You're either afraid of being deceived, so you hide away from the truth in fear, or you seek out and reach out to the truth, even if it was all based on fabrications. In my opinion, I'd rather risk it all and reach out to a goal, rather than live in doubt, and regret what could've been."

"...Interesting," the backpacker said, before standing up. "I enjoyed talking with you. Here's a small present from me."

The backpacker took out a black disc and handed it to Nate. The thief accepted the disc and examined it.

"...Snarl...?" Nate asked.

"I like that move," the backpacker replied. "It's used for tactical uses, and I like tactics over brute strength."

The backpacker prepared her things to leave, as Nate put the disc away.

"...They say a zoroark settled in around here about two years ago," the backpacker said. "It changed the appearance of this grassland with its ability, 'Illusion', and tricked the people who would visit, and the Pokémon who lived here. It's an outrageous rumor, but a rumor has some truth in it."

"...Every rumor has a kernel of truth in them," Nate shot back.

"...You truly are an interesting person..." the backpacker smiled. "...I know this might sound strange, but if you ever reach Driftveil City, could you perhaps go and meet my son?"

"Your son?" Nate asked.

"Show him that disc, and he'll know that I sent you," the backpacker explained as she began to leave. "I'm sure you and him will become great friends."

"...Sure...I'll do that, woman," Nate said as he glanced back to his view, before his trademark malicious grin sported his face. "Or should I say...'vixen'...?"

Zoroark simply smirked as she disappeared into the trees. This boy was truly interesting.

* * *

Eventually, the trio regrouped at the entrance of the forest, where Hugh showed the others his newly caught heracross.

"So you got one, eh?" Nate asked, examining the Hercules beetle.

"Yeah," Hugh said. "What do you think?"

"...Not bad," Nate said. "You picked out a good one, Matis."

"Well that's good to hear," Hugh smiled. If the more experienced Nate said that Heracross was a rather good pick, then he's sure to bring many things to the table.

"So now we head back to Nimbasa City, right?" Rosa asked, eager to challenge the gym.

"Yeah, yeah," Nate grumbled as the trio headed back to the city. "Do you even have a plan for taking the gym on? If I recall correctly, it's an Electric-type gym, and like half of your team is weak to that."

"Well that's why I have you all," Rosa said.

"Well at least she admits she's using us," Nate drawled. "Ladies and gentlemen! Your future champion!"

"Shut up," Rosa grumbled, noting the sarcasm in his tone. "I know I don't have much of an answer to Electric-types, sue me."

The boy rolled his eyes as Hugh sighed. As they reached Nimbasa, the city seemed to be stirring with activity.

"What's going on?" Hugh asked.

"C'mon, we need to hurry!"

"Nancy's concert starts in fifteen minutes!"

The group looked around, listening into the commotion from all the scurrying people as they made their way.

"Looks like Nancy's concert is going on soon," Rosa came to that conclusion.

"You mean that idol?" Hugh asked.

"Yeah," Rosa replied.

Nate perked up, glancing at the direction the people were headed to. The concert seemed to be taking place at the amusement park. There was still the matter of whether this 'Nancy' was Yancy or not.

"The hell's an idol?" Nate decided to ask them.

"You don't know what an idol is?" Rosa asked in shock, receiving a shrug from the boy. "Well, to put it simply, an idol is a really popular singer."

"Popular singer, huh..." Nate muttered, glancing towards the park.

"Well, since Nancy's performing right now, we should go see the concert!" Rosa suggested.

"Why?" Hugh asked. "We shouldn't really be wasting time. We should focus on the gym leader."

"I don't see why not," Nate interjected, much to their surprise. "I mean, the gym's pretty much where the concert is."

"Are you serious?" Hugh asked, surprised that Nate actually sided with Rosa for once.

"I don't see the harm in just sneaking in and spectating," Nate shrugged.

"Alright!" Rosa exclaimed "Let's go then!"

Excited to see Nancy's concert, Rosa eagerly rushed to the amusement park, with Hugh and Nate trailing behind.

"What's with the sudden peak of interest?" Hugh asked as they followed Rosa.

"...Hm? Just because, I guess," Nate lied, not wishing to reveal his inner motives.

* * *

It was fifteen minutes before the concert. The pink-haired idol was having her make-up and her curled side ponytail by several assistants as her manager of a father was listing off the game plan for her concert.

"Alright, so the run down. You perform the songs as rehearsed yesterday, which should take about an hour," he explained. "Then after the concert, you're set for a short Q&A, where you'll be signing autographs shortly afterwards. Then there's the interview with Gym Leader Elesa as she picks some challengers from the crowd, where the exhibition match between you and Elesa takes place."

"R-Right..." the idol muttered.

"We've got a big day ahead of us, Nancy," the manager said, patting her on the shoulder. "Do your best."

"Right..." Nancy mumbled as the manager left, before sighing.

"You alright?"

Nancy turned to another boy, who had lime-green hair tucked under a black hat.

"Curtis..." Nancy said.

"You seem down," Curtis replied. "You alright Nance?"

"I guess..." Nancy mumbled. "It's the same old, anyways. Don't worry about it Curtis."

"I see," Curtis said. "Well, if you need to talk, I'm always free."

"Thanks, Curtis," Nancy smiled.

"By the way, did you happen to see my Xtransceiver anywhere?" Curtis asked. "I seemed to have misplaced it..."

"I haven't seen it," Nancy shrugged.

"Damn..." Curtis muttered. "Well thanks anyway..."

Curtis left, presumably to search for his Xtransceiver, leaving the idol to herself once more. Yes, this was usual. She, the famous idol popstar Nancy, must put up her best to cater to her adoring fans and be the compassionate, outgoing and ambitious role model for young girls all over the region they made her out to be.

Without any regards to how she truly feels.

Nancy simply sighed, where she felt something tugging at her dress. She looked down to see her audino tugging at it, looking at her worryingly.

"Audi..." Nancy said, before smiling and picking up the pink creature. "Thanks, but don't worry. I'm fine."

Audi didn't really look convinced, but managed to smile, deciding not to push the matter any further. Nancy couldn't help but giggle at Audi. She remembered how she caught the audino back at Virbank along with a wonderful boy she had the greatest of pleasures to become acquainted to. Sure he was a little gruff around the edges and was blunt to a fault, but he was still kind in his own way. Audi was a symbol of that meeting. She would always cherish her forever.

"Nancy! It's time!" her manager called out.

Nancy sighed, before recalling Audi to her pokéball. Time to do the same routine again.

* * *

Soon enough, the trio reached the site of the concert. If the giant crowd of people gathered around a certain border in front of a large stage with several security guards weren't enough of an indication, then the rogue didn't know what is.

"So how do we even get in without tickets?" Hugh asked, pointing to the gate, where they seemed to be accepting tickets.

"Crap, you're right," Rosa muttered. "I guess we sneak in?"

"Hm..." Nate muttered.

He had no idea what the hell this 'ticket' is, and why they need this thing just to go watch a chick sing in front of a bunch of idiots, but they did need it to get in.

Well 'legally' at least.

"Alright, let's go with the illegal method," Nate whispered.

"The illegal method?" Rosa asked.

Nate glanced around, before spotting a hidden path through a bunch of trees beyond the benches.

"Follow me," Nate whispered.

Nate quietly crept towards the hidden path, urging Rosa and Hugh to follow. The two followed the boy through the shadowy trees, quietly sneaking past the guards.

"And there..." Nate smiled once they were in the clear and emerged within the crowd. "Seriously, why do humans need whatever the hell these 'tickets' are in order to attend something as open like this?"

"Tickets are a source of profit for the organizer," Hugh explained. "They act as vouchers that indicate that a person paid for admission to an event."

"I see..." Nate muttered, scanning the area. "Let's go..."

The trio quietly snuck into the crowd, successfully mixing into the crowd. They managed to find a spot where they could see the stage clearly.

"So, what now?" Nate asked Rosa.

"Well, we just wait," Rosa shrugged. "Nothing else we can do really."

"Oh great," Nate groaned. "Although, while we're here..."

Nate's eyes shifted rapidly around him, narrowing with devious intent. So many naïve and unsuspecting humans were around him. All of their attention focused on the stage, eagerly awaiting for their idol to make an appearance. He was sure they wouldn't mind making a few unknown donations...

"Oh no you don't," Rosa said sternly, seeing what he was planning. "You are NOT going to go pickpocketing."

"Tch, annoying woman," Nate groaned under his breath. "Just had to ruin my fun, don't you?"

" _Sorry for the wait everyone!"_

Before the two could argue, a bubbly voice boomed throughout the speakers placed on the stage. The crowd began to go wild, signaling them to shift their attention to the stage, where a girl ran onto the stage, causing the crowd to go even wilder.

"It's Nancy~!" the girl exclaimed cheerfully. "I hope you're all ready to have a good time!"

As the crowd went ecstatic at the appearance of 'Nancy', Nate decided to examine the girl thoroughly. Long bubblegum pink hair tied up into a curled side ponytail, the girl wore a white dress with a gold sash on the waist with two hot pink straps that are covered by her puffy white collar that goes down to a pokéball symbol with ribbon coming from the symbol. A hot pink headband adorned her head with a large cream and pink bow on the right side, while a pink headset is placed over her left ear. And to finish the attire she had white and hot pink wrist bands on each of her wrist. The boy could understand how people would be attracted to her, she was decent eye candy.

"Yep...that's definitely Yancy alright," Nate muttered under his breath.

The bubblegum pink hair, the blue eyes, the pale white skin. Hell, they both even have the same mole under her left eye. Physically speaking, there's no doubt that Yancy and Nancy were the same person.

The personality, however, was a different story. From his short time with Yancy, he instantly learned that the girl was rather timid, somewhat shy and bashful, and very reserved. From the mere seconds since she made her entrance, Nancy had already shown a persona that was filled to the brim with an outgoing cheerfulness and confidence, something that seemed out-of-character for the modest Yancy. Could this be the real Yancy? Or is 'Nancy' simply a mask she puts on on-stage?

Either way, Nate had to admit: he was impressed. He never expected Yancy to be able to pull off such a façade.

"Alright then!" Nancy exclaimed. "Let's get going!"

The crowd went into an uproar as Nancy began to sing her first song. The melodious pop song that filled the area invaded everyone's ears, grabbing their attention with glee.

"She really is a good singer," Rosa commented. "So Nate, how do you like your first con–?"

Rosa turned to the thief for his opinion on being at a modern concert, only to be caught in surprise to find the boy completely entranced to the idol.

"Beautiful..." Nate murmured to himself.

Hugh managed to notice Nate's stupor along with Rosa, and was equally as shocked as the girl. Neither of them expected Nate of all people would be this enthralled by the modern music of a pop idol of all things. Rosa decided to take a picture of this while the boy was clearly distracted. Like she would let something like this pass by. The boy stayed in his stupor for the entire concert, as Nancy accepted the cheers of her audience as she proceeded to sing her next song, all for the entire hour until her last song was done.

"Thank you everyone~!" Nancy called out. "I'll be signing autographs shortly, where you can ask me anything you want, so come on by!"

"Wha–?" Nate finally snapped out of his stupor. "What the hell happened...?"

He then turned to Hugh and Rosa, who had the biggest smug grins on their faces.

"The hell's your problem?" Nate asked.

"Well we didn't know you liked pop music so much," Rosa teased.

"Huh?"

Rosa decided to humor him by showing Nate the picture of his entrancement to Nancy, making the boy blush a brilliant red shade.

"You erase that NOW!" Nate threatened, reaching for his knife.

"Geez, it was just a joke," Rosa said as she erased the picture and tucked her Xtransceiver away. "But still didn't expect you of all people to be that into it."

"I dunno, I guess since this was the first time I've ever been to a concert...or heard someone sing...at all..." Nate muttered.

"Really?" Hugh asked.

"Mom and Sis weren't really ones for lullabies," Nate shrugged. "I guess...I liked it..."

Rosa and Hugh glanced at each other, before turning back to Nate, who had a rather melancholic look on his face. The boy keeps acting so abrasive and cynical that it was simply a shock to see him look the part of an innocent and naïve boy. They forgotten how the boy had little to no contact with the human world, and how harsh his life must have been based on implications he dropped about his life here and there. Here, he had been just an innocent boy who had been treated to his very first concert.

"...Okay stop looking at me like that," Nate grumbled. "There's still one more thing to do, right?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, the Gym Leader!" Rosa exclaimed.

"...Gym Leader? Oh yeah that," Nate muttered.

"Wait, what were you getting at?" Hugh asked, noticing Nate's slip up there.

"Nothing," Nate turned the other direction.

"Wait..." Rosa said, putting the pieces together, before sporting the slyest grin on her face. "You want to get an autograph from Nancy, don't you?"

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about," Nate denied.

"Your expression says it all," Rosa smirked.

Nate couldn't help but get flustered, before glaring at Rosa, who simply snickered.

"C'mon, let's go then," Rosa said. "The booth should be over there."

Nate grumbled under his breath as he followed Rosa, much to the amusement of both Rosa and Hugh.

"You got the picture I sent you right?" Rosa whispered to Hugh.

The bluenette simply gave her a thumbs up, smirking crazily. Like hell they were going to just erase something that rivals gold to them.

* * *

"Thank you!" Nancy cheerfully said as she signed a boy's picture of her.

The boy smiled ecstatically as he rushed off to his group of friends with the picture in his hand. Nancy simply smiled as she attended to the next person; a small girl who timidly handed her a small teddy bear.

"Can you sign him?" the girl asked.

"Of course," Nancy smiled as she carefully signed the teddy bear to not ruin the fur. "Here you go."

The girl squealed in delight as she accepted the bear.

"Thank you Nancy," the girl said. "Uh, can I ask a question?"

"Of course you can, silly," Nancy giggled.

"Do you have a crush?" the girl asked innocently, catching Nancy slightly off guard.

"Do I have a crush, huh...?" Nancy asked. "Hm...Not that I can think of right now, but who knows."

The girl seemed satisfied with that answer, as she ran off to her mother, leaving Nancy to contemplate on what she said as she dealt with the next fan.

' _A crush huh...'_ Nancy thought as she signed another fan's photograph. _'That's something to think about...it's not like I_ can't _get any boy I want, but they only look at 'Nancy'. If there was a boy I would genuinely crush on, then it has to be...'_

"Gah! Don't push me you little bitch!"

Nancy snapped out of her train of thought as a blue-cladded boy was shoved in front of the line by a bun-headed girl who was snickering crazily as she backed off, leaving the boy to grumble under his breath. The boy glanced to Nancy, before beginning to blush slightly.

Nancy stared at the boy for a good five seconds, before registering who he was and recognizing him. Her cheeks began to flare up as she went into panic mode.

' _N-N-NA-NAATE?!'_ Nancy's thoughts screamed. _'WH-WH-WHAT'S HE DOING HERE?!'_

"So...uh...yeah...you mind signing this...?" Nate muttered under his breath, handing her a clean piece of paper.

"Uh–Uh, okay..." Nancy mumbled timidly as she accepted the paper and began to sign it. _'Does he not...recognize me...?'_

Nate stared at Nancy as she began to fumble with her pen.

' _Wait, why's Yancy acting all funny? I mean we already know each othe–WAIT A MINUTE,'_ Nate thought, his brain beginning to work again.

Nate stared at her incredulously, as Nancy finally finished signing Nate's paper, before handing it back to him.

"H-Here you go..." Nancy mumbled.

"Th-thanks..." Nate muttered, accepting it, before finally calming down. "So...I can ask a question, right...?"

"Y-Yes..." Nancy mumbled.

"Do you enjoy being an idol?"

That question certainly caught her off guard. Nancy glanced back up to Nate, who had a more serious look on his face. Nancy began to think, before tilting her head down slightly.

"...Well, yes," Nancy replied. "I make people happy after all with my singing, and I help be an example for aspiring females everywhere, so yes, I enjoy being an idol..."

Nate's eyes narrowed slightly, sensing some kind of hesitation in Nancy's tone.

"I see..." Nate said. "Well, thanks for the answer Yancy."

"Yeah, no problem Na–!?" Nancy nonchalantly responded, before realizing her slip up and covered her mouth. The girl shot back up to Nate, who had a rather devious smirk on his face, as if a plan he devised worked splendidly.

' _So he did recognize me!'_ Nancy internally screamed as Nate left. _'And he made me slip up!'_

"Uh, are you alright, Nancy?" the next fan asked, noting Nancy's troubled expression.

"Huh?! Oh yeah, I'm fine," Nancy laughed nervously, before secretly taking out her Xtransceiver under her table and began to rapidly type up a text message and send it to a certain brunette.

* * *

"Admit it, you've fallen for Nancy," Rosa teased.

"Shut it, Bunhead!" Nate snarled, clearly embarrassed.

The trio, now having settled what they needed to do, headed straight for the gym to obtain their fourth gym badge. Or that was the original plan, but the gym guide told them that Elesa was out, and suggested checking the roller coaster house, since Elesa was known to visit and ride the attraction very often.

"You were completely entranced by her concert," Rosa went on. "I know boy are mesmerized by Nancy, but you were treating her like Grade-A eye candy."

"Okay actually shut up!" Nate growled in annoyance, still clearly flustered.

"C'mon, quit teasing him," Hugh defended Nate, deciding that enough was enough.

"Fine," Rosa huffed.

"Stupid bitch," Nate grumbled under his breath.

The trio reached the roller coaster park after stopping their fun time of teasing Nate.

"So, Elesa's here?" Rosa asked.

"I guess," Hugh shrugged.

"Alright then, let's go," Rosa said.

As the trio were about to head in, Nate suddenly received a message on his Xtransceiver.

"The hell?" Nate asked, stopping to go check his Xtransceiver.

 _Meet me in front of the Ferris wheel before 5._

 _I'll explain everything._

 _-Yancy._

"Uh huh..." Nate muttered. "Alright you guys go on ahead, I got shit to do."

"Huh?" Rosa asked.

"Cowlick wants me to go to the Relic Castle," Nate lied. "I dunno why, but he wants me to investigate."

"Alright then," Hugh shrugged. "We'll just go on ahead then."

"I'll meet up with you guys by tonight or something," Nate shrugged as he left, jumping onto a street lamp, before jumping onto the building and out of their sight.

Rosa and Hugh looked at each other, before shrugging it off and heading into the roller coaster park. Nate sneaked a peek down on the ground to make sure that Rosa and Hugh had left, before looking around to spot the Ferris wheel.

Leaping across building to building like a ninja, Nate managed to reach said Ferris wheel, while spotting a rather familiar white panama from the bird's view. Nate quietly landed near some bushes, before emerging and approaching the familiar girl. Nate smirked, before quietly creeping up behind her, and poking her on the shoulder, surprising the girl.

"No! I'm not who you think!" she panicked before turning around to see the boy. "Huh? Nate?"

"Surprised you, didn't I, Yancy?" Nate snickered.

"Sorry about that, I thought you were someone else..." Yancy mumbled. "So I was a little surprised."

"Yeah," Nate said. "So...you're an idol..."

"Y-Yeah..." Yancy mumbled, hiding her shame under her hat. "Did you...enjoy the concert...at least...?"

"You know what...yeah...I actually did," Nate admitted. "You're pretty good. I can see why you have a lot of fans at least."

"R-Really?" Yancy asked, perking up tremendously.

"Yeah," Nate said. Yancy seemed to have taken the news very well, judging from that dreamy look on her face. "Oh, that reminds me."

Nate began to dig through his bag, before taking out Yancy's Xtransceiver and handing it back to her.

"I believe this is your's," Nate said.

"Thank you," Yancy said, accepting the device.

"Whatever," Nate shrugged. "So, curious though, about your answer back then."

"My answer?" Yancy asked.

"Back when I asked you if you were happy with being an idol or not," Nate said, his smile dropping. "There was a tinge of hesitation in your tone when you answered me. You have any inner demons to worry about?"

Yancy had a rather nervous look on her face. Yep, there was definitely something she was hiding, even after her mask as an idol was found out.

"...Do you mind if we could ride the Ferris wheel?" Yancy asked. "I'd rather talk in private."

Nate stared at Yancy, before agreeing.

* * *

The two got onto the next available capsule, before the ride started and the capsule began its ascent.

"Y'know, Nimbasa's Ferris Wheel is famous for having a beautiful view," Yancy said.

"Uh huh," Nate muttered, glancing outside the window. The view was rather impressive. "So? You said you wanted to talk in private."

Yancy sighed, before glancing outside the window.

"...Three years ago, I was just a normal girl," Yancy started. "I lived with my father and brother. My mother had died when I was little from a disease. We were fairly peaceful."

' _A dead parent...'_ Nate thought darkly. So she had some parallels too.

"I lived a fairly normal life," Yancy said. "Living with two men, I ended up picking up on their hobbies too...I was different from other girls. And that's what got me into getting bullied by the other girls at school."

"Bullied?" Nate asked, genuinely curious.

"I didn't make any friends back then," Yancy admitted. "I was the shy, lonely girl who would always sit in the back of the class not socializing with anyone, and always found solace in reading by myself. I was the perfect target for everyone to pick on.

"' _You mom-less freak', 'your dad's a workaholic', 'you never have any clean clothing', 'why can't you be a normal girl',_ the list goes on," Yancy said darkly. "Because I didn't have a mom to go to, or a dad to bring to school one day, because we could only wash our clothes once a week to preserve as much money as we can, because I wasn't a normal girl...I was apparently a freak to everyone that justified being picked on by everyone else."

Nate clicked his tongue in disgust. Of course the _humans_ would gang up on the one anomaly and haze them. Such pathetic acts could only be done by such trash.

"I was at first used to the insults, trying to ignore them all...but my patience eventually wore thin," Yancy went on. "I stopped going to school, unable to take any more insults...they just got stale and repetitive...I was sick of it all. I hated the girl I was that was targeted by everyone, and yet couldn't do anything about it."

"...And how does this lead to you becoming an idol?" Nate asked.

"Because I wanted to change myself. I wanted to escape the identity of that bullied girl Yancy..." Yancy answered. "That chance came when my father informed me that he had applied both my brother and I for an audition to be an idol. At first I was mad that he did that without me knowing, but I accepted it anyways. It was the perfect chance to change myself."

"And so you went to the auditions and ended up passing," Nate managed to conclude, earning a nod from Yancy.

"...Yeah, I did," Yancy said. "I passed the auditions, while my brother passed other auditions. It took a year until our actual debut, going through countless other auditions, appealing to gravure magazines, until finally we was acknowledged by the entertainment business. From there, I was given my stage name, 'Nancy', while my brother, Curtis, ended up becoming 'Christoph'. My father became our manager, and then, well, everything else became history. We managed to escape poverty, I was no longer bullied, and I ended up gaining a moniker, 'Unova's Sweetheart, Nancy'."

"Alright, now explain why you're not happy about it. I mean this was what you wanted," Nate inquired.

"Well, everything went well at first, but then it came the time to release information about 'Nancy', because everyone was interested in learning about their sweetheart," Yancy explained in a rather tired tone. "I was gonna be honest with myself, but Father told me to tweak some of the information to be published. I was a little upset; if there was anything, I'd always wanted to be honest with myself. But my father convinced me to go through with it; in order to better appeal to the mass; to further the distance from 'Nancy' and 'Yancy'. That's how they became two different people.

"Nancy liked sweet food. Yancy also liked sweet food, but would rather choose spicy food. Nancy liked to read romance. Yancy had no preference for specific genres, but would rather read mystery. Nancy was bubbly and talkative. Yancy was more reserved and timid. Nancy is notable and sticks out like a sore thumb in a middle of a crowd. Yancy is bland, and blends too perfectly into the crowd.

"Nancy is the role model of girls everywhere. Yancy was the loser bullied by girls everywhere.

"I didn't think much of it at first; I was just happy that I no longer had to deal with what I used to have to deal with. I was at peace," Yancy said. "But...eventually I realized that I wasn't myself anymore.

"Everyone only recognized me as 'Nancy', the sweet, bubbly, idol adored by Unova. No one remembered who 'Yancy' was. Even my own father stopped looking at me as his daughter. He only looked at me as 'Nancy', his means of keeping away from the poverty that plagued his life. I don't even remember the last time he called me by my real name. Only you, my brother and Roxie even call me Yancy anymore.

"Everyone's just focused on 'Nancy'. No one wants to know about 'Yancy'. I lied for so long...because 'Nancy' was nothing like 'Yancy'. No one knows the real me."

Nate narrowed his eyes as Yancy's tone dropped when she said that.

"...So you're longing for someone to see the real you, after building up a mask to get away from that," Nate summed it up. "...Talk about irony."

"Right?" Yancy laughed weakly. "I'm nothing but a liar; I have to lie to keep up everyone's expectations as 'Nancy', yet I want someone to look at me for who I really am. Because no one else will...Of course, I have no right to complain. It was my decision to discard my identity as 'Yancy' to become who I am now. I don't have the right to yearn for what I threw away."

Nate stared at Yancy for a long while, absorbing all the information presented to him. He knew Hugh shared a lot of parallels to him, and thus was why Nate could relate to the blue-haired trainer, but Yancy...

The similarities between the girl and him were staggering, even for him.

"You're right," Nate said sternly. "You don't have a right to complain about no one seeing the real you or wanting to regain your old self, whatever that is anymore, when you went through all the effort to throw it away in the first place. That's turning your back to all the effort you put in the past three years. That's simply running away from it all because you don't like what you've become."

"Yeah...you're right..." Yancy mumbled gloomily.

"In that case, remake it," Nate offered, confusing Yancy. "If no one remembers who 'Yancy' was, then remake that personality. From the scraps of your old personality, remake it into a new one; one that you're true to and that you'll be proud of."

Yancy stared at Nate in amazement, as the boy decided to glance out to the window.

"Huh, you're right, this is a nice view," Nate said.

Yancy glanced to where he was staring out to, and witnessed the breathtaking view of an orange sky over the glittering city of Nimbasa. It was truly breathtaking.

"At the very least, I'll help you," Nate offered.

"Help me?" Yancy asked.

"If you want people to know the real you," Nate said. "Then I'll be the first step for you. The first person to get to know the real you. Not 'Nancy' Unova's lying sweetheart, or 'Yancy' the loser no one seems to want, but you, the person who wants to be true to yourself."

"Nate..." Yancy said, before smiling. "Thank you..."

* * *

Eventually the Ferris wheel came to an end, and Nate and Yancy exited the capsule.

"Yancy!"

The two turned to see a boy with lime-green hair rushing up to them.

"Curtis?" Yancy asked.

"What is he, your boyfriend or something?" Nate asked.

"No, he's my brother," Yancy corrected him as Curtis rushed up to them.

"Where were you?!" Curtis exclaimed, gasping for breath. "Dad's really pissed right now!"

"What?" Yancy asked, before remembering that she was supposed to be doing something. "Oh no, what time is it?!"

"It's almost five," Curtis said. "Y'know, when Nancy's supposed to be interviewing Elesa and partaking in an exhibition match?"

"Oh no, I have to hurry back!" Yancy exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, you're supposed to be doing something," Nate mumbled.

"Wait, who's the guy?" Curtis asked.

"Later!" Yancy yelled. "Oh no, even if we run, it'll take us ten minutes to get ready AND to get to Elesa's gym for the interview!"

"How long you need to change?" Nate suddenly asked.

"Huh? Well, at least like 3 minutes..." Yancy said, before getting cut off as Nate suddenly carried her in his arms bridal style. "Wh–WHAT THE?!"

"I need to get her to the stage to change, right?" Nate asked Curtis.

"Huh? Yeah, but you won't make it–," Curtis said. Nate didn't let him finish, as the boy suddenly jumped onto the capsule, before jumping from platform to platform at an alarming speed, headed straight for the stage. He left Curtis in the dust, as the lime-haired boy was left with his jaw dropped. "...In time..."

One minute later, and Nate fell from the sky, landing onto the stage carrying a now flustered Yancy in his arms, alerting security, along with a pink-haired man.

"What in the hell?!" the man yelled.

"Alright, we're here," Nate said as he placed Yancy onto the ground.

"Nancy!" the man yelled.

"Ah, Father!" Yancy exclaimed as the man rushed up to her.

"Where were you?!" the man asked. "We were so worried that someone kidnapped you!"

"Oh yeah...sorry..."Yancy mumbled.

"Never mind now," the man shook his head. "Let's just get you ready and headed to Elesa's before the time limit."

The man grabbed Yancy and practically dragged the girl backstage without even acknowledging Nate.

"Oh, so don't even acknowledge the preteen who potentially kidnapped your idol daughter," Nate muttered. "Why are the dad-figures I run into just absolute shit tier? Man I miss Dad. He was cool."

Shrugging it off, Nate decided to make his way to Elesa's, supposedly Nancy's next destination.

* * *

" _And Eelektross goes down! Meaning the challengers Rosa Echoes and Hugh Matis are the winner!"_

Nate managed to sneak into the crowd while they erupted in applaud for Rosa and Hugh, as the duo sighed in relief. A primarily light green, slightly insectoid bipedal dragon was panting slightly, while Eve was laying on the dragon's back, completely exhausted. In front of them were a large eel-like Pokémon that resembles a lamprey, along with a zebra-like Pokémon, both defeated, while the duo's opponent, a beautiful woman with long black hair wearing a blue and yellow bikini, applauded for her challengers as she picked up her yellow puffy coat.

' _So they actually won...'_ Nate thought as he hid himself among the crowd. _'And Vibrava evolved into Flygon mid-battle...wow that bastard's team's just getting better and better in such short notice.'_

"Congratulations you two," the woman complimented. "You two did fantastic. Especially when your vibrava evolved into a flygon midway. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you Miss Elesa," Rosa said in a star-struck tone. "It was an honor fighting you."

"Likewise," Hugh said in a more normal tone.

"You two truly earned this," Elesa said as she gave each of them a lightning-bolt shaped badge, and a yellow disc. "The Bolt Badge, and the TM Volt Switch."

"Thank you ma'am," they both said.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, let's give another round of applause to the challengers!"_

Rosa and Hugh received another round of cheers from the audience as they went to their Pokémon.

"You did amazingly, Eve!" Rosa squealed as she coddled the fox.

"-Yep!-" Eve barked in happiness.

"Nice work, Vibrava–wait, Flygon," Hugh congratulated his newly-evolved partner. "How do you like your new form?"

"-Not too shabby,-" Flygon grinned as he gave Hugh a thumbs up. "-I like having claws now.-"

"Alright now," Elesa said as she went to heal up her Pokémon. "I actually have an interview with Yancy right after this. Would you two like a special VIP seat?"

"Yes please!" Rosa practically beamed, while Hugh shrugged indifferently.

Giggling at Rosa's enthusiasm, Elesa led Rosa and Hugh to two seats near the large screen, which was divided off from the audience watching from the side of the catwalk, indicating that they were VIP seats. Nate simply eyed them from the crowd he was hiding in.

' _Judging from both the eelektross and zebstrika...those two actually went through with Challenge Mode...'_ Nate thought. _'Well now, they actually handled themselves...'_

His thoughts were broken off, as the crowd got even crazier.

" _Ladies and gentlemen! The guest of honor has arrived! Let's give a warm welcome to Unova's Sweetheart, Nancy!"_

The crowd went ballistic, as Nancy made her way down the catwalk, smiling and waving at the audience.

' _Well she's really good at putting up a face,'_ Nate noted, considering they just had a rather sentimental conversation some ten minutes ago.

"Hello, Unova!" Nancy exclaimed with that bubbly tone she used during her concert. "It's Nancy, here with National Gymquierer, ready to interview the Shocking Supermodel, Elesa herself!"

As Nancy walked up to Elesa to do her interview, Nate glanced around, catching up on various side conversations that were going on while Nancy was interviewing Elesa.

"Man, both Nancy and Elesa at the same place? I can die happy now~."

"I can't decide who's hotter, Nancy or Elesa."

"Nancy's got that sweet, cheerful girl demeanor, but Elesa gives off the vibe of a cool, mature lady."

"Dude, check out Nancy! Man she is HOT! Those curves, that ass, that chest? I would totally fuck her!"

In response to that last comment, Nate took a coin from someone's pocket and angrily flung it at the teenage boy who made the comment.

"Ow!"

The coin pelted the boy's head rather painfully, as he looked around to see who did it. Nate smirked evilly as he shifted his attention back to Nancy.

"Well at least I can give her another reason to make a new persona," Nate grumbled.

"And now for the main event!" Nancy exclaimed once her interview was done. "I'd like to challenge Elesa to an exhibition match! However! I'd like to invite someone from the crowd to join me in battling Elesa!"

The crowd went insane, while Nate arched a brow. She would make this into a 2 vs 1? Well, if Rosa and Hugh could do it, then I guess it was possible. Especially if it was a simple exhibition; which shouldn't be too hard.

"Now, who will I pick today~?" Nancy asked playfully as she looked around the crowd, as spotlights began to hover above the crowd.

Everyone looked tense, many of them praying that Nancy would pick them to join her in battling Elesa. Some of the boys were even down on their knees praying. Nate looked surprised, but managed to hide a snicker. This kind of desperation was entertaining to watch, so long as he wasn't the one in the position.

Nancy's eyes hovered across the crowd, until they met Nate's unassuming eyes. Her fake grin turned genuine and increased in size as she pointed to the blue-cladded boy, signaling all the spotlights to shine upon him.

"You!" Nancy exclaimed with gusto. "You'll be my partner!"

The crowd's attention shifted to Nate, before it exploding once more in excitement.

"Heh?" Nate blurted as security workers lifted Nate and got him onto the catwalk.

"So tell us, what's your name?" Nancy asked, placing the microphone to his mouth.

' _Fuck, live television...oh whatever...even if I use a fake name here, it probably wouldn't do much good anyways,'_ Nate thought. "Uh...Nate..."

"Well then Nate," Nancy inquired. "Will you do me the honor of joining me in battling Elesa?"

"...I guess," Nate shrugged.

"Great!" Nancy squealed as she grabbed his arm and led him down the catwalk.

The boy could notice the jealous glares from the boys from the crowd, and a few girls too.

"What the hell's going on?" Nate whispered to Nancy.

"Father wanted to spice things up by making this into a 2 vs 1, after watching the previous gym battle that took place," Nancy whispered to him.

"Oh great," Nate groaned.

Once they reached their soon-to-be battlefield, Nate noticed Rosa and Hugh at the VIP section, whom jaws were dropped at the sight of him being picked out by Nancy. Nate could only give them a shrug; it wasn't his idea to be picked out and dragged onto a field in live television anyways.

Either way, he owed them an explanation.

"Welcome to the main stage, my darling, where my beloved Pokémon and your beloved Pokémon shall compete," Elesa exclaimed with a theatrical flair in her tone. "Let us see whose star shines brighter!"

Well this was an interesting change of pace, to say the least.

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN:** Y'know this took up more of the chapter than I anticipated it would, not gonna lie. Oh well, I can always use next chapter. Not to mention the pacing in terms of plot progression in PoYS is faster than CoYS in the fact that the PoYS group is already in Nimbasa at chapter 9, while it took the CoYS group up to chapter 14 to reach Nimbasa. So potentially, PoYS might have less chapters than CoYS. Idk that's just a guess.

Well hope you guys liked how I pretty much revamped Yancy's character, and hope this fed you transceivershippers out there. Also I hope this makes Nate look a lot more decent in terms of being an actual human being. I mean I'm having a lot of fun writing the little bastard and his personality and morale is something to behold to me.

And to update:

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Nite (Pignite) / Kid (Elekid) / Brav (Braviary)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Growlithe) / Mandi (Mandibuzz)

Hugh: Flygon / Servine / Magby / Tirtouga / Heracross

Wow, I just subtly upgraded Hugh's team without realizing it. Also if you haven't checked it out yet, I'd really appreciate it if you all could go check out my XY story, **Fidelity**. I mean if you're tired of seeing competent male leads, then the nervous wreck of a female lead I turned Serena into might be a fresh breath of air to you, since there's no way she's OP like Nate. And if you like bastards like Nate, then the elitist loner asshole I turned Calem into might fancy you.

Also...this might come to bite me in the ass later on, but:

Pokemon Platinum Story: **Platinum Witch:** Coming **December 24.**

Think of it as my Christmas present to you all since a lot of you want me to write a story about Platinum after Dawn's reception in CoYS, assuming I actually get it in on time. Hopefully along with one more update to PoYS and Fidelity, but we'll see.

Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the chapter, and as always, look forward to the next chapter. See ya next time!


	10. 10: Stigma

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 10: Stigma**

* * *

 **AN:** I hope you all had a happy new years! I'd like to start off 2016 on my part with a brand new chapter to give to you all!

And to respond to a bunch of reviews you all left for me since the last one:

 **I. M. Poik:** Glad you enjoyed the last chapter! Hopefully you'll enjoy this one just as much!

 **Tony Anderson:** Thanks, glad you like it!

 **Eris:** Holy shit you left a really long one. It'll take up a LOT of room to reply to all of your points you made (since it's essentially you summing up your reaction to CoYS), but I'm glad you liked it, and glad that it helped you clear up a few things you didn't understand the first time for PoYS. It's a good thing to read the first piece before checking out its sequel after all haha. But you were spot on in regards to many points you made regarding PoYS, however, that'll all be revealed in the future. Yeah, action was lacking last chapter, since it was more for character development over anything. Hopefully this one makes up for it ^^'

 **Defender31415:** Thanks, glad you liked it!

 **Guest (Nov. 30):** Glad you liked the transceivershipping parts, even if you support visorshipping. Don't worry to all you visorshippers, I have something planned for all of you in the future.

 **xQEAx:** Thanks man, glad you liked it, and the shipping moments!

 **zeldamaster456:** Thanks! Glad you like the story, and hopefully it'll keep on delivering for you.

 **OblivionWings:** Thanks! Although I do advise you read Color of Your Soul first (the one with Hilbert), even if you do prefer BW2 over BW, since it'll explain a lot of points PoYS makes, especially this chapter's points. Oh well, your call.

 **Kircsh:** Thanks man! Yeah, seeing the one who usually all the cards in his hands fumble like that can be pretty cute if you imagine someone like him blush like that haha. You do have a point, I guess I do have a tendency to reuse a word a bunch of times ^^' I'll work on trying to variate my vocabulary a little. And well, juggling three stories is gonna be tough, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not confident in my ability to juggle these three, and my life at the same time; not to mention I have one non-Pokemon related story planned for release. But damn will I try my best. Hopefully you all can understand.

 **zeffron42:** Hey, even if it is cheezy, if it works, then why not? It still makes for an effective way to expand on Yancy's character.

 **Guest (Dec. 31):** In my defense, I never actually stated that this would be visorshipping. Hell, I haven't decided the final pairing for Nate yet.

Alright, on to the show!

* * *

From her side of the field, Elesa sent out a white flying squirrel-like Pokémon and a large yellow spider-like Pokémon from her side. The squirrel floated above the spider, while the spider made a loud thud as it landed on the field.

" _From Elesa's side comes out Emolga and Galvantula! What will Nancy and her partner choose to combat these two electrifying menaces?"_

Nate leered at the two Pokémon as he scanned them with his pokédex.

"Emolga, the sky squirrel Pokémon. It glides on its outstretched membrane while shocking foes with the electricty stored in the pounches on its cheeks."

"Galvantula, the EleSpider Pokémon. It creates barriers from electrified silk that stuns foes. This works as a weapon as well as a defense."

"So, any other rules we should be aware of?" Nate asked.

"I'll be using a team of four, while you two will use two each," Elesa explained. "Whoever loses all four first loses."

"Fair enough," Nate shrugged, before eyeing the emolga and galvantula. "Nite!"

"Audi!"

From the challenger's side, Nite and Audi emerged from their pokéballs, landing in front of their respective trainers. Nite pounded his hands aggressively, while Audi looked around, wondering what's going on.

"-Alright, let's show'em Boss!-" Nite roared.

" _And from the challenger's side comes out Pignite and Audino!"_

"You sure you can fight?" Nate asked Nancy skeptically.

"Well I still have to put up a show, at least," Nancy replied back.

Nate arched a brow, still intrigued at how much more confident 'Nancy' was compared to 'Yancy'.

"Alright then," Nate said. "I'll focus on Galvantula. You deal with Emolga."

"Got it," Nancy nodded.

"Let's start then!" Elesa boomed. "Galvantula, Thunder! Emolga, Air Slash!"

Galvantula shot a jolt of electricity into the air, while Emolga shot a blade of air at Nite. Nite barely dodged the Air Slash, while Audi defended herself from the incoming Thunder.

"Nite, Flame Charge at Galvantula!" Nate yelled.

"Audi, Ice Beam!" Nancy yelled out.

Nite covered himself in flames as he charged at Galvantula, while Audi shot a beam of ice at Emolga. Emolga dodged the Ice Beam, while Galvantula dodged Nite's Flame Charge. Nite landed behind the spider, but instantly shot back to it, managing to land a hit from behind.

" _And Pignite manages to land a clean Flame Charge into Elesa's Galvantula, nailing in some super-effective damage, while gaining a much needed speed boost!"_

"Emolga, Air Slash!"

As Nite crashed into Galvantula, Emolga shot an Air Slash at the fire pig, managing to hit it from behind.

"-Guh!-" Nite winced.

"Now, Thunder, Galvantula!"

As Nite flinched from the Air Slash, Galvantula took the opportunity to shoot down a Thunder at the pig, nailing him hard with the murderous jolt of electricity. Nite was fried by the Thunder, breathing somewhat heavily from the damage.

" _Oh! But it looks like Elesa won't be letting the challenger have their way with a nasty double attack on Pignite!"_

"Now, finish the pignite off with–!" Elesa commanded.

"Double-Edge!"

Before Galvantula could to anything, Audi suddenly shot out of nowhere and rammed into Galvantula, preventing it from attacking Nite any further. The force from Double-Edge managed to send Galvantula flying into Emolga, buying Nite much needed time to retreat.

" _And Nancy comes in with a nice save with her audino's Double-Edge, giving them time to retreat and re-plan their attack!"_

"The announcer's starting to piss me off," Nate said as Nite returned to him. "Nice save by the way."

"Is Nite alright?" Nancy asked in concern as Audi returned to her.

Nate glanced at Nite, who was panting heavily, while electricity coursed through him painfully.

"He's paralyzed..." Nate clicked his tongue. "There goes the speed boost from Flame Charge."

"Audi, Heal Pulse."

Audi faced Nite and emitted a serene, calm pulse at Nite, which began to heal his wounds.

"Follow it up with Heal Bell," Nancy said.

Audi nodded and clapped her hands, releasing a soothing bell sound that managed to cure Nite of his paralysis.

" _What's this? It looks like Nancy's audino is healing up her partner's pignite! As expected from the super-idol Nancy! Strong, and considerate of her partner's Pokémon!"_

At that response, the audience applauded, cheering Nancy's name as Nite shook himself and faced the opponents.

"Yeah, I really like the other gym battles more," Nate growled. "This announcer is really pissing me off and this crowd is like a hive mind. Thanks anyways."

"No problem," Nancy smiled. "I'll provide back up. Nate, you go on the offensive."

"Yes ma'am," Nate smirked. "Nite, Heat Crash!"

Nite nodded and bulleted towards Galvantula, before circling around the spider to confuse it and then swiftly jump over Galvantula and plummeting onto the spider in a burst of flames.

"-AAAAGH!?-" Galvantula hissed in pain as Nite's weight crushed it.

Emolga tried to go in to help Galvantula, but Nite saw the squirrel, got off Galvantula and grabbed him, before hurling the spider at Emolga.

"Now, Ice Beam!" Nancy commanded.

Right as Emolga and Galvantula were stuck together, Audi shot an Ice Beam at them, encasing them in one single prison of ice.

"Now, Rollout!" Nate yelled.

Nite rushed at the case of ice and rolled into a ball that charged at them at a blistering speed, before smashing them out of the ice and sending them into the air. Emolga managed to get back into the air, but Galvantula crashed into the wall, before regaining conscious and clinging onto it.

" _Incredible! What teamwork! It looks like the challengers still got some game in them! As expected of Nancy, being able to synergize with her selected partner so easily!"_

"Did your dad–manager pay off the announcer to kiss up to you or something?" Nate asked, getting increasingly annoyed at him.

"Perhaps," Nancy shrugged. "He'll do anything to boost up my image."

"So long as he doesn't start paying off assholes to pretend to be your boyfriend, and we're good," Nate mumbled.

"What was that?" Nancy asked.

"Not now," Nate shot her down.

"Not bad," Elesa said as Galvantula and Emolga returned to her. "You two are pretty good."

"Well y'know, if you've been doing this for a while, then you have to at least not suck," Nate replied.

"Well then, let's hope you can keep it up," Elesa challenged.

"Of course we can," Nancy responded rather haughtily. "We'll definitely beat you!"

" _Wow! What a declaration of confidence from Nancy! It's obvious that not even a renowned gym leader can scare her off! Can her partner keep up with Nancy?"_

And with that response ushered in the audience to cheer for Nancy once again, while managing to tick off Nate even further with that last remark.

"Obnoxious little..." Nate growled, his tone now laced in annoyance. "Nite, Rollout!"

Nite rolled into a ball once more and charged at Galvantula, who was barely keeping up its posture.

"Emolga intercept with Spark!" Elesa yelled.

As Nite charged at Galvantula, Emolga lunged into Nite in an electrically charged tackle, bouncing off the pig, but managing to stop Nite in his attack. As Nite recovered from the Spark attack, a sticky web was shot at him, covering him in the web.

"-What the–!?-" Nite blurted, seeing that he was covered in the web.

"The hell?!" Nate blurted as he glanced over to Galvantula, who was holding the end of the web.

"You're caught in Galvantula's webs," Elesa enlightened Nate. "Galvantulas likes to use electrically charged silk to ensnare prey. The electricity stuns the victim, allowing them to consume the target at its leisure."

"Oh fuck..." Nate muttered, realizing what the spider was about to do.

Galvantula grabbed the web with one of its pedipalps and sent a violent electrical charge through it, electrocuting Nite.

"-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!?-" Nite screamed in pain.

"Shit!" Nate swore.

"Audi, get him out of there!" Nancy yelled.

"Emolga!"

As Audi was about to help Nite, Emolga rammed into the hearing Pokémon, leaving Nite at the mercy of Galvantula.

"Audi!" Nancy cried.

"Oh fan-fucking-tastic..." Nate groaned. "Nite! Show some back bone! I know you're tougher than that! Flame Charge!"

Wishing to answer to Nate's belief in him, the Fire-type roared in defiance, and ignited himself on fire. The fire caught onto the silk and traveled up until it touched Galvantula, and consumed the Elespider in its flames.

"-GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!-" Galvantula cried in agony as it let go of the silk to try and deal with the fire.

The fire from Flame Charge managed to burn through the silk, freeing Nite from it.

"Tear him down!" Nate roared, which Nite obliged by crashing into Galvantula.

"Oh no! Emolga help Galvantula out–!" Elesa hastily ordered.

"Not so fast! Audi Ice Beam!" Nancy interrupted.

Before Emolga could act, Audi shot another Ice Beam from behind, freezing the flying squirrel once more.

"Alright Nite, hurl the damn spider at 'em!" Nate smirked.

With his newly buffed speed, Nite rushed at Galvantula before the spider could recover from being lit on fire, grabbed it, and proceeded to swing it around violently before hurling it straight at the frozen Emolga. The burning spider ripped through the ice, crashing into Emolga. The ice broke off completely, leaving the two Electric-types unconscious.

" _And Elesa's Emolga and Galvantula are down for the count! What great teamwork displayed by Nancy and her partner!"_

* * *

"Well at least he's doing alright," Hugh commented as he and Rosa were spectating Nate's battle against Elesa from the VIP section.

"That's to be expected giving his skill," Rosa said. "At this point, it would be surprising if he _couldn't_ get this far."

"Still, what a coincidence that Nancy would end up choosing Nate of all people," Hugh said.

Rosa glanced at said idol, who was giving off a somewhat proud smirk, waving to her erupting fans before glancing back to Nate rather dreamily. Said boy was paying more attention to Nite, who was exhausted, and proceeded to give him a Sitrus Berry to heal him.

"Yeah..." Rosa narrowed her eyes at Nancy. "Y'know, she seemed a bit _too_ enthusiastic when picking him out."

"You think so?" Hugh asked. "I dunno, it's probably all in the act. She is an idol after all. These kinds of theatrics must be natural for her."

"I guess..." Rosa muttered, conceding for now.

Still, Nancy seemed a bit too close to Nate for it to be a mere act for the cameras. Rosa had observed the way they communicated during their battle; the bubblegum-haired idol listened to Nate intently, strictly supporting him as he took the offensive. For a mere act, they seemed to work in near-perfect sync.

And Nate, while being surprised by being sought out by Nancy given his previous expression he sent to them, he didn't seem too fazed by the sudden turn of event afterwards. Her friend (if she can actually consider him one yet), seemed to act way too nonchalant towards someone of her status. It was as if he already knew who she was and had no qualms ordering her around despite the fact that such a 'heinous act' (what her fans would probably consider it if they actually took note of it) would definitely earn for ire from them to him.

Then again it could just be Nate's usual personality; the boy doesn't seem like the type to care about things like her status as an idol or things normal people would probably care about (or their opinion for that matter). Nate didn't really care for those kinds of things, so he could well have easily just adapted to the situation and went along with it. Nate leered as he got into a defensive stance, signaling Nany to get ready. Ah, so Elesa decided to reveal her zebstrika and eelektross. Those two were powerful foes. She and Hugh had a hard time fighting them. Things would've turned not as well had Vibrava not evolved into Flygon mid-battle, giving them the much-needed boost to combat the two Electric-types. It pained her to admit it, but she wasn't sure if she could handle facing both of them had Vibrava not been there. Eve didn't prove to be too effective against them–.

No, now's not the time to think about it. Right now, she should be rooting for Nate. She could worry about her own team later. Besides, Eve would've found a way around that fight.

"You okay, Rosa?" Hugh asked.

"Huh?" Rosa blurted, glancing to the boy.

"You were staring pretty damn intently at Nancy," Hugh pointed out.

"I was...?" Rosa asked. She didn't even notice. "...Don't worry about it."

Hugh shrugged, glancing back to the battle. Rosa hadn't realized that she was staring so fervently at the idol. Sure she had her suspicions, but they weren't that bad. Nate could take care of himself regardless. Although she couldn't help but feel...something...as she watched how Nate and Nancy worked together rather smoothly, in spite of the obvious difference in skill between the two.

She couldn't help but feel some kind of disdain towards it all, and she couldn't understand why. One thing was sure however.

She didn't like it. She didn't like it at all.

* * *

"Zebsrika, the thunderbolt Pokémon. When this ill-tempered Pokémon runs wild, it shoots lightning from its mane in all directions."

"Eelektross, the EleFish Pokémon. It latches on to prey with its sucker mouth, sinking in its fangs and shocking the prey with powerful electricity."

Nate glanced at the data the pokédex provided about them. Nate mentally swore to himself as Nite pounded his front hooves. Zebstrika were known to be particularly fast among the Electric-types he encountered among Unova, and just as fierce. And Eelekross boasted the Levitate ability, meaning it was immune to its only weakness, Ground. Effectively making the lamprey boast no weaknesses. There were ways around it, but for the time being, they could only just hit it with their strongest moves to deal as much damage as possible.

"This is gonna be annoying..." Nate muttered. "Nite, Rock Smash!"

Nite shot towards Zebstrika and tried to smash his hoove onto its face, but Zestrika easily sidestepped out of the way, while Eelektross managed to grab him.

"-Wha–?!-" Nite blurted, before Eelektross threw him onto the ground like a ball.

Nite bounced off the ground, before Eelektross jumped up, grabbed Nite once again, and hurled him at Audi; the pig crashing into her like a cannon ball.

"Now, Zebstrika, Wild Charge!" Elesa commanded.

As Nite and Audi tried to get up, Zebstrika was already charging for them surrounded by violent electricity and crashed into them, blasting them away.

"Audi!" Nancy cried. Audi and Nite fell to the ground, no longer able to fight.

" _And Audino and Pignite are down! Swiftly taken down by the terrifying teamwork of Elesa's Zebsrika and Eelektross! How will they pull this around now?!"_

"Well that was fast," Nate muttered indifferently as he recalled Nite. "You did well Nite. A shame they used you for volleyball practice."

Nate then glanced to Nancy, who recalled Audi with a somewhat sad expression.

"You were great out there, Audi," she softly complimented her Pokémon.

"You have a mon with Earthquake?" Nate asked.

"Earthquake?" Nancy asked. "Well Snor knows Earthquake...but isn't Eelektross immune to Earthquake?"

"Good, because I have a plan," Nate assured her.

"Alright then," Nancy said, trusting Nate as she took out her next pokéball. "Snor!"

Nancy threw out her pokéball, releasing the giant snorlax, Snor, onto the field, briefly shaking the arena and the audience close by upon landing. The audience gasped at the sight of a non-Unova Pokémon making an appearance, before applauding madly.

" _Wow! Nancy surprises us by unleashing a mighty large titan onto the field! I highly doubt her partner can conjure up anything that can rival this titanic monster! Will she be leading the forefront with this goliath of a Pokémon!?"_

"Oh yeah?" Nate practically snarled as he released Luca. "Try this on for size, you annoying piece of shit."

The golden lucario landed gallantly onto the field, stealing everyone's attention from Snor, as she focused her attention on the two opposing Electric-types.

" _O-Oh my goodness! A shiny lucario! What an extremely rare spectacle to behold! I've never thought I'd see the day I would witness my eyes upon a shiny Pokémon!"_

The audience went crazy upon Luca's entrance, marveling at the uniquely colored lucario as she took a fighting stance.

"You know, we've been around Luca so much that I forgot shiny Pokémon were supposed to be extremely rare," Rosa commented from the VIP corner.

"Oh yeah," Hugh offhandedly muttered.

"-Uh, Nate...?-" Luca asked uncomfortably. "-What's going on?-"

"Ignore everyone around you," Nate muttered, pointing to the opposing two. "You and the bear have to fight those two."

"-But why are we...?-" Luca asked, glancing around to see the audience.

"Exhibition?" Nate shrugged. "I don't know, just finish this and we can get the hell out of here?"

"You have a shiny lucario?" Nancy asked, amazed at the sight of Luca.

Luca stared at Nancy for a moment, before glancing back at Nate.

"-Why's Yancy wearing that stuff?-" Luca asked Nate.

"Wait, how did you figure it out so fast?!" Nate gasped.

"-Well...it's not exactly rocket science,-" Luca shrugged. "-They do look practically the same outside of hairstyles.-"

"You can talk to Pokémon too?" Nancy asked Nate, awestruck.

"Not now," Nate muttered as he glanced back to Elesa.

"I do thank you for livening up the audience," Elesa said rather haughtily. "It's not very often you get to witness a shiny Pokémon. I do hope it's just not all show, however."

Luca narrowed her eyes at the supermodel gym leader, and immediately prepared a Bone Rush staff, before brandishing it.

"-I'll show you!-" Luca growled.

"Yeah, famous people are annoying," Nate declared, before noticing that Nancy looked offended and sighing. "Not you..."

Feeling better, Nancy got her act together, as Snor stepped up next to Luca.

"So this thing knows Earthquake?" Nate asked Nancy.

"Yes, why?" Nancy asked.

"Ok don't use it until I tell you to," Nate told her. "I have a plan, and I'd rather have you hide the fact that your snorlax has it until everything's ready."

"Alright," Nancy nodded.

"Are you two done flirting?" Elesa asked, grabbing their attention. "You two better give it your all if you want to defeat these two!"

"But of course!" Nancy shot back in a rather proud tone, doing her best to not flush in embarrassment over her last comment. "We won't go down so easily!"

The audience went up in another uproar as Elesa's Pokémon got ready to fight, while Snor let out a yawn before getting ready, and Luca was impatiently tapping her foot.

" _And now the final round! Snorlax and Lucario versus Zebstrika and Eelektross! Who will prevail!?"_

"...Is being famous this annoying?" Nate asked no one in particular.

* * *

"Eelektross, Discharge! Zebstrika, Volt Switch!"

Eelektross released a flare of electricity across the field, blasting every Pokémon around it with the electricity. Zebstrika seemed to be unfazed by the flare, but Snor had to withstand the discharge, while Luca quickly stabbed the field with her staff to let the electricity course through the field, avoiding any damage from the discharge. Zebstrika then shot several rings of voltage at Luca, who continued to brace herself with the staff plunged into the stage.

"Impressive," Elesa commented. "To use your Bone Rush as a redirector..."

"Pummel them!" Nate ordered.

Once the electrical onslaught had ceased, Luca pried her staff out of the ground and lunged at Zebstrika. As she went for a vertical slash, Zebstrika quickly sidestepped out of the way and got behind Luca, before ramming into her from behind. Luca clicked her tongue as she jumped back away from Zebstrika.

"Wild Charge!"

Zebstrika surged with violent electricity as it charged at Luca in an alarming speed, forcing Luca to block

"Tch, it's pretty fast," Nate muttered as Zebstrika charged for Luca once more.

"Eelektross, Drain Punch at Snorlax!" Elesa commanded.

"Meet it with Fire Punch!" Nancy quickly countered.

Eelektross's claw gripped into a fist with a green swirling energy surrounding it as the lamprey attacked Snor, who lit his paw on fire and met Eelektross's Drain Punch. The two punches clashed, before being forced back from the force of the collision.

"Continue with Discharge!" Elesa commanded with gusto.

Eelektross let out another flare of electricity that engulfed the arena, forcing Snor and Luca to defend themselves. Zebstrika used the opportunity to stomp Luca down, forcing the jackal down.

"Aura Sphere!"

As Zebstrika was about to stomp down on Luca, she quickly charged an Aura Sphere and shot it at Zebstrika, blasting the zebra away from her. Zebstrika managed to recover in the air and land back on its feet, glaring disapprovingly at Luca. Luca simply snorted and prepared another Bone Rush staff.

"She's pretty good," Nate mused.

"What now?" Nancy asked. "At this rate, we're stuck withstanding her attacks without being able to strike back."

"...What's Snor's full moveset?" Nate asked.

"Uh...Earthquake, Fire Punch, Hyper Beam, and Body Slam."

"...Use Hyper Beam the moment Luca manages to shoot them together with Aura Sphere. From there, I'll–."

"Volt Switch!" Elesa interrupted the two.

Zebstrika released another volt of electricity at Luca, who jumped out of the way. The volt struck the ground, leaving a charred spot on where it landed.

"It's stronger than before..." Nate muttered. "...Lightning Rod...?"

"Correct, dear boy," Elesa chuckled. "Lightning Rod allows Zebstrika to redirect and absorb all Electric-type attacks on the field, using it to boost her Special Attack."

"But since Discharge is a spread type move...it doesn't get redirected by Zebstrika's Lightning Rod..." Nate muttered. "So it gains the benefits while we're still hit by it."

"My, you catch on," Elesa commented. "Now how will you combat it now?"

"It won't matter if it doesn't hit me!" Nate yelled. "Luca, Extreme Speed!"

Luca brandished her staff, before sprinting at Zebstrika at an inhumane speed and striking the zebra on the side with her staff. Luca then flung Zebstrika at Eelektross, causing Zebstrika to crash into the lamprey.

"Now! Aura Sphere! Full Charge!"

"Hyper Beam!"

Luca charged an aura sphere to max capacity, while Snor charged a vehement amount of energy into his mouth. The duo then shot their respective projectiles at the two Electric-types before they could get back up, blasting them with the two projectiles.

" _And the devastating combination blow of Aura Sphere and Hyper Beam nails Elesa's two Pokémon! Will that be enough to subdue them?!"_

Snor slumped down, slightly panting in exhaustion.

"Hyper Beam forces Snor to rest before he can attack again..." Nancy commented to herself, glancing at Snor worryingly. "But it is a strong move...so hopefully..."

"If things turn out right, then that should be enough to take those two out," Nate finished for her as he checked out the cloud of dust that formed where Zebstrika and Eelektross were attacked.

"You know, you really are amazing, Nate," Nancy said to him.

"Huh?" Nate slurred.

"I mean, you were able to come up with such a good plan in such a short time," Nancy complimented.

"It's not really a 'good' plan," Nate shrugged. "More straightforward than anything."

"It's still better than what I could've done by myself," Nancy insisted.

"Is that so...?" Nate asked.

"Overheat!"

The two shot back to the dust cloud, where a giant fireball suddenly shot out from it, catching Luca off guard and blasting her with the infernos.

"-AAAAAGH!-" Luca cried in pain as the fire exploded.

"Luca!" Nate cried.

The dust cleared to reveal Zebstrika and Eelektross, standing defiantly, albeit exhausted.

" _And a surprise Overheat from Zebstrika caught Lucario off guard, blasting the Steel-type fighter cleanly, and turning the tide on the battle!"_

"They're still not defeated?!" Nancy gasped.

Nate shot his glance at Luca, who struggled to get back up, supporting herself with the Bone Rush staff.

" _Lucario manages to stay standing barely! But with Snorlax needing to rest from using Hyper Beam, will they be able to make a comeback?! Or will Elesa show her dominance as the gym leader?!"_

"Goddamn it..." Nate grumbled.

"So? How will you two overcome this conundrum?" Elesa asked rather tauntingly. "Your lucario is well in the range of fainting, and I highly doubt your snorlax can take on both Zebstrika and Eelektross by itself."

Nate and Nancy glared at Elesa, but the idol was secretly panicking inside. The plan instantly fell apart because Elesa's Pokémon actually managed to withstand both a Hyper Beam from Snor and an Aura Sphere from Nate's lucario. Not to mention they managed to score an Overheat on Lucario, which should've left a mark on her, considering that she's weak to the Fire-type move. Especially coming from a Pokémon who's had their Special Attack boosted twice. Frankly she was surprised Lucario can still stand.

At this rate, they were going to lose. She would lose in front of all these people. After all that confidence she put into this, she would lose to Elesa in front of everyone. And worse, she would lose in front of Nate.

What were they going to do now?

As Nancy began to sweat, Nate glanced at the internally panicking idol, before glancing at Luca. The jackal, albeit heavily exhausted, seemed to have enough energy to go a little longer. She glanced at Nate, who nodded in response. She acknowledged Nate's gesture with her own nod, before producing another staff.

"...Well it's a good thing we have one last trick up our sleeves," Nate said, getting Nancy's attention.

"What?" Nancy asked.

"...Luca! Restrain them!" Nate ordered.

Nodding, Luca growled as she gripped her staff and charged at Elesa's side.

"A futile effort..." Elesa shook her head. "Zebstrika!"

The zebra growled as she charged at Luca. Luca, however, evaded Zebstrika with Extreme Speed, before proceeding to slam the Bone Rush staff into Zebstrika's face. As the zebra was dazed, Luca suddenly hurled her staff at Eelektross. Eelektross quickly parried the staff, but Luca was already under the lamprey, where she proceeded to grab Eelektross and perform a suplex on Eelektross, slamming the Electric-type into the ground. Before Eelektross could recover, Luca pinned it to the ground, preventing it from escaping. Conveniently, Snor managed to recover from the Hyper Beam recoil, and was ready to fight once more.

" _Incredible! It looks like Lucario still has some fight in it left, and has managed to pin down Eelektross! How will Nancy's side take advantage of this situation?"_

"Now, Nancy! Tell Snor to use Earthquake!" Nate barked.

"Huh?!" Nancy blurted. "But...at this rate it'll hit Luca too–."

"I know that," Nate cut her off. "That was the plan. To get Zebstrika in a vulnerable state and to pin Eelektross down on the ground so that Earthquake will hit it."

"What?!" Nancy gasped, shocked that Nate would allow his own Pokémon to get caught in the impending attack. "But...!"

"Luca knew the plan, and understood the risks. Yet she went through with it," Nate reasoned with her. "She's fully prepared for it."

"But..." Nancy tried to protest.

"Do you want to win or not?" Nate asked.

"W-Win...?"

"It's only a matter of time before Zebstrika will recover and deal with Luca," Nate said hurriedly. "If that happens, then we pretty much lose."

Nancy still looked conflicted. She knew that Nate was right, but she still felt wrong in willingly hitting his Pokémon just to gain victory. It just didn't feel right. But before she could think about it any further, Zebstrika groaned, starting to regain some consciousness.

"Now or never!" Nate yelled, growing desperate and irritated.

"But–!" Nancy stuttered.

"JUST DO IT!" the boy snarled.

Nancy flinched from Nate's anger-filled yelling, but ultimately made her decision.

"Snor, Earthquake!" Nancy commanded.

"What?!" Elesa gasped.

Snor nodded, before slamming his body onto the stage, causing the entire arena; and everyone within a close proximity, to feel the earth shake and quake. The field began to falter; plates of the earth began to shoot out, stabbing Zebstrika, Eelektross, and predictably Luca with said plates from the earthquake.

Nancy felt her balance slipping, but Nate managed to catch her before she could fall, and shielded her from any stray debris that decided to shoot out from the earthquake.

"Nate..." Nancy said softly, watching in awe as the boy weathered the tremor for her and himself.

Once the tremor ceased, the field was covered in clouds of dust.

"Wh-what happened...?" Elesa coughed, having somehow withstood the tremor.

The clouds cleared, revealing a totally demolished arena. Predictably, Zebstrika and Eelektross were completely wiped out, having taken the full brunt of Snor's Earthquake. But to everyone's surprise, Luca was still somehow conscious; shaking violently as she wriggled in pain to slowly rise up slightly.

"-Don't...underestimate Nate...bitches...-" Luca swore silently, before her mind went black as she fainted.

* * *

" _AMAZING! In one fell swoop, Snorlax was able to wrap up the match with a devastating Earthquake at the cost of hitting its own teammate! And with Snorlax still able to battle, Nancy's side is the winner!"_

The crowd went wild, applauding for the battle. Ignoring the uproar, Nate went over and checked up on Luca, picking up the jackal.

"You did well, Luca," Nate smiled, before recalling her into her pokéball.

Nancy walked up to Nate, a rather guilty expression on her face.

"N-Nate..." Nancy mumbled.

The boy glanced up to Nancy, before sighing.

"Look, it was my idea to begin with," Nate said. "So don't worry about it. She knew the risks and went through with it too. You just went through with the plan."

Nancy still couldn't help but feel remorseful for taking out his Pokémon like that, but Nate placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, getting her to look up to him.

"You did pretty good out there," Nate comforted her. "You were a lot better than when we fought back at Virbank."

"R-Really?" Nancy inquired somewhat timidly.

"Yeah," Nate nodded.

"Congratulations are in order," Elesa interrupted them, walking up to the duo. "To think you had that kind of devastating move in your sleeves."

"It did make for the perfect surprise attack, did it not?" Nancy asked rather proudly as if she hadn't regretted attacking Luca just seconds ago.

' _Well she's good at changing personas, that's something to keep note of,'_ Nate mused.

"Is your lucario going to be alright?" Elesa asked Nate.

"She's been through worse," Nate shrugged. "She'll be fine."

"But still, that was a formidable lucario you had there," Elesa complimented Nate. "Not to mention a rather beautiful and gallant one at that. It's not every day you get to see a shiny Pokémon."

"Well maybe not for you," Nate joked.

"Perhaps," Elesa giggled. "You're an even more wonderful trainer than I expected. Your cunning fighting style, not to mention the trust you put in your Pokémon, and into Nancy...they swept me off my feet!"

"Thanks, I guess..." Nate shrugged.

"Although this was an exhibition," Elesa continued. "Not rewarding you for such a great battle CANNOT be tolerated."

As she recalled Zebstrika and Eelektross, she snapped her fingers, where another woman showed up onto the stage, presenting her with a badge and a disk.

"The gym badge?" Nate asked.

"I already presented it to two other trainers who beat me before the exhibition," Elesa said. "And besides, you beat me after all. It would be redundant if you were forced to face me again afterwards."

Elesa picked up the thunderbolt-shaped badge and the yellow disk and presented them to Nate.

"The Bolt Badge. One of the Unova League's official badges, and the symbol of Nimbasa," Elesa said. "Also this TM contains 'Volt Switch'. It allows the user to switch out to another Pokémon upon using it."

Nate nodded, accepting his rewards and putting them into his bag.

"Now then, that concludes today's National Gymquier! I've been your host, Nancy!" Nancy exclaimed. "Have a good night Unova!"

The audience applauded loudly for the idol as she grabbed Nate's hand and brought him towards the back of the stage along with Elesa. As they approached the VIP section, Nate noticed Rosa and Hugh.

"Oh so that's where you two've been," Nate said.

"So you know all know each other," Elesa commented.

"That was pretty ballsy of you," Rosa commented. "Using yourself as bait to set up the snorlax to nail Zebstrika and Eelektross with Earthquake."

"It was pretty clever though," Hugh added.

"I guess," Nate shrugged. "And how did your battle go?"

"We won, obviously," Rosa scoffed with pride.

"Vibrava managed to evolve into Flygon during the fight," Hugh told him.

"Well that's good for you," Nate said. "So, what now?"

"So you all wish to challenge the next gym leader?" Elesa asked.

"Yes, do you know where the next gym is?" Rosa asked.

"Well the closest one is in Driftveil," Elesa said. "Just cross the drawbridge that's in Route 5 and you'll get there in no time."

"Alright then," Hugh nodded. "Let's rest up tonight, and leave tomorrow morning."

"Sounds like a plan," Nate said.

"Oh but first!" Nancy interrupted, grabbing Nate's arm. "I would like to interview my partner in private."

"Wait, wha–?" Rosa blurted.

"You don't mind, right Nate?" Nancy asked rather sweetly.

"Uh...I guess...?" Nate replied, unsure of what to say.

"Great!" Nancy exclaimed. "Oh don't worry you two, I'll release him once I'm done."

"Uh...sure..." Hugh muttered.

"Wait, wha–?" Rosa blurted, but Nancy already took Nate away.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing happens to him," Elesa assured them. "You all just head back to the pokécenter. It's getting late, anyways."

"If you say so..." Rosa muttered unsurely.

Shrugging, Hugh turned to leave, while Rosa glanced at Nate and Nancy's retreating figures somewhat warily, before following Hugh out.

"Why do you look so troubled?" Hugh asked Rosa as she caught up to him. "It's not like she can do anything to him. He's too capable to let someone as frail-looking as that take advantage of him."

"I guess..." Rosa muttered, still not looking too convinced.

Hugh saw how wary Rosa was towards Nancy. Honestly he didn't quite understand it. There wasn't that much to worry about; Nate could more or less take care of himself. Frankly he was more worried about the idol. She probably didn't know what she got herself into becoming acquainted with him.

As they exited the gym and headed to the pokécenter, Rosa noticed something a nearby bench. She quickly went over to it, and got a closer look, where it was revealed to be an Xtransceiver; a rather old one at that.

"Huh?" Rosa mumbled to herself. "That's a pretty old model...wonder what it's doing here?"

"Rosa! What're you doing?!" Hugh called.

Rosa glanced up to the boy. He was already at the gate.

"Sorry! Just needed to throw something away!" Rosa called back as she proceeded to stuff the old Xtransceiver into her bag and rush over to her friend.

* * *

"So? Why did you bring me here, anyways?" Nate asked, sitting on a nearby chair.

"Why to interview you, of course," Nancy said matter-of-factly as she took a seat near him. "As the lucky fan who got picked by yours truly, you get to be interviewed."

"Yeah, 'lucky'," Nate rolled his eyes. It couldn't have been a more bias pick from her part even if he tried.

"C'mon, just roll with it," Nancy insisted playfully. "It wouldn't hurt."

"Fine," Nate huffed.

"So, how did you become a trainer?" Nancy asked.

"Huh? Well, I didn't intend to become one," Nate admitted. "But certain things happened, and I ended up being forced to become one."

"That's interesting," Nancy said. "So where did you meet Luca, anyways?"

Nate glowered slightly; his expression hardening slowly.

"I'd...rather not talk about it," Nate muttered in a warning tone.

Nancy noticed how Nate's tone suddenly changed, and decided to leave it be. It wasn't obviously the best of memories for him.

"Alright then..." Nancy said, deciding to ask a new question. "How many badges do you have?"

"As of now, four...? Was it four? Probably was four," Nate answered dismissively.

"That's quite a lot," Nancy commented. "How were all your gym battles up until now?"

"They were somewhat challenging, I guess," Nate shrugged. "Well since I end up challenging them with my friends, and one of them are persistent in making it a higher difficulty, so it was a lot more annoying than it could be."

"Sounds like you have a rather battle-crazed friend there," Nancy giggled.

"Battle-crazed, more like she's pretty prideful," Nate shook his head. "I mean sure I get that she wants to challenge herself by doing that, but sometimes I wonder whether or not she'll end up getting more than she can ask for at one point. When that happens, I'll be worried if her ego can handle the loss or not."

Nancy noticed the use of female pronouns Nate was using when addressing his friend. So it must be that 'Rosa' girl he was talking about. She did fit the prideful description alright. Nancy couldn't help but narrow her eyes a bit.

"So, what's your relationship with this friend of yours?" Nancy asked.

"Huh? Well, she's a traveling companion," Nate said flatly. "Boastful, arrogant, has a theatrical flair in her, and at the bare minimum annoying. And it's pretty fun to piss her off and see how she reacts."

"I see," Nancy said.

"However," Nate added. "While she can be annoying to deal with, her ambitions and ideals; while they are naïve and self-centered, are something that are worth admiring. And I can't deny the effort she put into her dreams. And when she doesn't have an overblown ego, she is pretty competent."

"I see..." Nancy muttered.

"Now if only she learned how to control her ego," Nate shook his head.

"She seems to be quite the handful," Nancy chuckled.

"Handful is an understatement," Nate laughed. "Well if anything, I can respect anyone who would pursue what they really want to do, regardless of whatever stands in their way."

Nancy glanced up at Nate as he continued.

"So even though I put her through a lot of shit and berate her a lot, she at least deserves some respect," Nate admitted. "Although she will have to learn humility if she truly wants to become what she wants to be."

Nancy stared at the boy, taking all the words he said to heart. That's the kind of person he admires. One who pursues their passions no matter what obstacle stands in their way. Essentially someone who stays true to themselves and their ideals. That was someone she so desperately wanted to be. She couldn't help but feel envious of that girl. She got to do whatever she wanted. She didn't have to listen to anyone like herself. She wasn't bound to the ground playing 'idol' for everyone.

Whether she realizes it or not, she's getting all of his attention.

"So? Anything else?" Nate asked.

"Huh?" Nancy snapped out of her stupor. "Oh no! I think that's enough. Thanks for sharing all of that with me."

"Whatever," Nate shrugged, before noting the time. "It's getting kinda late. I better get going."

"Yeah, it is," Nancy said, noting the time, before getting back up. "I'll see you off."

"Alright then," Nate nodded as he got up and the two began to head out of the building. "Oh yeah, so do you know what you plan to do now?"

"Huh?" Nancy asked as she walked next to him.

"How will you plan to make yourself known as 'Yancy' instead of the fake idol you claim you are?" Nate asked.

"...I...I don't know yet..." Nancy said. "I'll think about it."

"Suit yourself," Nate said. "Just don't do anything stupid."

"Right," Nancy laughed nervously as they reached the exit. "Well, I see you later then."

"Right," Nate replied. "See you later, Yancy."

With that, the boy left, leaving the idol to her own thoughts as she waved to the boy as he disappeared into the night. How would she do that indeed? Her position made it hard to just abandon everything she's built up without some kind of consequence. It's not like she could do much on her own anyways.

Or could she...?

"Nancy! Can you come here for a moment?!" her manager called out to her.

"Ah, coming!" Nancy called back as she headed back in.

It was food for thought, if anything.

* * *

As Nate wandered through the darkness-filled streets of Nimbasa, he glanced up to the sky. The moon stood out brightly in the night sky. The boy stared at it blankly. A cold haze surrounded the boy, making him stop and reach for his knives.

"-Courier,-" a chillingly monotone voice addressed him.

Nate looked up to see two familiar cryogonals hovering over him.

"...Right...I have to meet up with him," Nate muttered. "Pretty sure I still had one more day."

"-Perish the thought,-" the one on the left shot back. "-Master wishes to see you tonight.-"

"-He has sent us to inform you,-" the one on the right informed him. "-Meet him at the destination you mentioned. The Entralink, I believe.-"

"So what about you two then?" Nate asked. "I mean I highly doubt you two can get to the Entralink within the span of a few minutes."

"-You will take us there,-" the one on the left stated.

"Oh you freeloaders," Nate grumbled. "Fine."

Looking around to make sure no one was looking, Nate hid towards a nearby alleyway and took out his Xtransceiver.

"Goddamn it, how do I do this...?" Nate grumbled as he fidgeted with the device and going through the apps. "Oh here it is!"

Nate found the file he needed, and selected the icon that was labeled 'Entralink'.

-Would you like to access the Entralink?-

Nate pushed the 'Yes' option, where within moments, a portal of light surrounded them, making them vanish in a harsh bath of light. Once the light died down, Nate found himself standing in a lush grassland. In the middle of the plain were two small and thin trees intertwining with one another, standing in the middle of a pool of light. Beyond the tree, a vast forest was visible.

"So this is the Entralink..." Nate muttered, before taking out two pokéballs and released Luca and Brav.

While the eagle landed easily, Luca fell to the ground with a loud thud, groaning in pain.

"Shit, I forgot I never healed you yet," Nate uttered as he took out a hyper potion.

"-You...asshole...-" Luca groaned as Nate tended to his wounds.

"-Are you alright there, girl?-" Brav chuckled.

"-I've been stomped on, electrocuted, fried by a giant fireball, and had faulting plates of the goddamn arena smack my gut,-" Luca growled. "-Do you think I'm okay Grampa?!-"

"If she can complain that much, then she's fine," Nate rolled his eyes as he sprayed the potion on Luca's gut bruise.

"-Indeed,-" Brav let out a hearty chortle.

"-You both eat ass,-" Luca grumbled.

Nate simply cackled as he finished healing Luca's wounds, as the two cryogonals moved forward.

"-This way,-" the left cryogonal stated. "-Come. Master awaits.-"

The two cryogonals headed towards the forest first, as Nate and the others followed.

"-This is the meeting place?-" Brav asked as he and Luca followed Nate.

"Yeah," Nate replied. "In here, no one can possibly eavesdrop. There's also no way Plasma can interfere."

"-Speaking of,-" Luca interjected. "-What do you think Plasma's up to now?-"

"Hell if I knew," Nate shrugged. "Knowing that shitty priest, he's probably gonna try and take over Unova or some shit like that. Not that I'll let him. I still have to kill the fucker first."

The trio entered the forest, where an even colder air greeted them as they entered the dimly-lit insides of the forest. Greeting them was a large, gray and blue bipedal monster-like Pokémon of a draconic basis. It has a blue head and snout and has yellow eyes without pupils, has a pair of pointed light bluish horns on its head and a yellow crest on its skull. Three pointed teeth jut out the bottom of either side of its jaws, which are frozen shut by the ice covering its head. Its long, gray neck has lines running around its whole body, legs, arms and tail. Its two short arms are each jointed together to its oddly-shaped blue wings that have two spikes of ice on them. The two cryogonals floated next to the giant dragon.

The frigid monster glanced down; gazing down upon Nate.

" _ **It's been a while, Nate,"**_ the dragon greeted rather jovially in spite of its coarse and cold tone.

"Yo, Kyurem," Nate replied back.

* * *

" _ **When I heard from these two that you were domesticated by the humans, I had to see to believe it,"**_ Kyurem said. _**"Suffice to say, they were right. This is humorous. Personally that look suits you; you actually look more presentable outside of that jungle child look you used to sport."**_

"Oh bite me," Nate grumbled. "So? Why did you want to meet up early? I said in three days."

" _ **Oh, should I have a reason to check up on you?"**_ Kyurem asked. _**"You are my favorite human after all."**_

"Yeah, since everyone else is afraid of you," Nate shrugged.

" _ **I don't see how that's my fault,"**_ Kyurem scoffed. _ **"The humans are such frail and cowardly worms as it is. They'll scream at anything that they can't comprehend and understand, just to make themselves feel better."**_

"...You're still not answering my question," Nate relented.

" _ **Fine, let's get to the point then,"**_ Kyurem sighed. _**"I sense Reshiram and Zekrom near where you are."**_

Nate suddenly narrowed his eyes at the dragon.

"They are?" Nate asked.

" _ **Yes, I can feel it..."**_ Kyurem hissed. _**"Their aura...there's no mistaking it. It's**_ **them** _ **."**_

"...Is that so..." Nate muttered.

" _ **I do hope you know what that means, right?"**_ Kyurem asked.

"Yeah," Nate said with a slowly increasing smirk. "It means the heroes decided to make a homecoming."

" _ **Indeed,"**_ Kyurem agreed. _**"Tell me Nate, you do remember your mission, correct?"**_

"Yes, yes," Nate scoffed. "Track down the Hero of Truth and Ideals, obtain both Reshiram and Zekrom, and bring them back to you."

" _ **Excellent,"**_ Kyurem replied happily. _**"I doubt another chance like this will present itself in the future again. We can't ask for a better opportunity."**_

"-Might we remind you that you had an opportune chance two years ago?-" one of the cryogonals chastised. "-Both the hero of Reshiram and Zekrom were in one place, and in no position to retaliate. Yet you let the chance slide.-"

"Oh please, I stole the two dragons while they were down, sure," Nate argued. "And then what? The place was crawling with their allies. Only armed with Luca and Brav, how the hell do you want me to take on all of them? Especially with like half of them being at least Elite Four class?"

" _ **Now, now, let's not punish him over old news,"**_ Kyurem softly scolded. _**"He had his reasons for his actions, or lack of. You can't change the past, so there would be no use in chastising him over it. However."**_

Kyurem glanced straight into Nate's eyes with his own empty yellow eyes.

" _ **This time, you have no reason to fail,"**_ Kyurem said sternly. _**"I do expect to see you with the two dragons."**_

"...Of course," Nate replied indifferently. "I'll bring the two dragons to you. And then you'll be able to revert back to your original form. And then..."

" _ **Of course...like we promised three years ago...we will exact our revenge upon the humans who wronged us our entire lives,"**_ Kyurem declared. _**"We will burn Unova to the ground, and finally be free of heart. I still remember, don't worry."**_

"As long as you do, then I have no qualms," Nate shrugged.

" _ **Good,"**_ Kyurem nodded. _**"I think that's enough of a briefing for now. I'll be going now."**_

"Right," Nate nodded back, before remembering something. "Ah, right. I should also warn you."

" _ **Hm? About what?"**_ Kyurem asked curiously.

"...With the two heroes back in play, there's no doubt Plasma will act accordingly too," Nate explained. "In fact, they're already making their move as we speak."

" _ **Plasma...you mean that terrorist group that was responsible for all of your despair and misery?"**_ Kyurem asked. _**"The ones who also killed your father, if I remember correctly from what you told me?"**_

"And a bunch of other things I'd like to kill them for, but yeah," Nate replied. "They'll definitely act accordingly should they learn that Reshiram and Zekrom, along with their trainers are back in Unova. And there's a high chance they'll approach you. So be careful. Whatever you do, do not trust Team Plasma, and trust a man called 'Ghetsis' even less."

" _ **You place unneeded worry in me,"**_ Kyurem scoffed. _**"I am not foolish as to aid the likes of humans; especially ones as despicable as them. I will however, heed your warning."**_

"Thanks," Nate said in relief.

" _ **You on the other hand; you should be careful of yourself,"**_ Kyurem offered his own concerns in return. _**"It's becoming a lot more dangerous. Should Plasma be as treacherous as you make them out to be, then there's possibilities that you will be aimed for as well, along with anyone around you that you might have come to care for. Exercise as much caution as necessary."**_

"Keh! Like those plebs can do shit to me," Nate scoffed. "By the time Ghetsis makes a move, I'll already have the dragons ready to deliver to you, and then he'll be nothing to worry about. But thanks for the concern."

" _ **But of course,"**_ Kyurem's expression softened. _**"We are partners after all."**_

"Yeah...I still owe you," Nate muttered. "...I better get going."

" _ **The next time we meet,"**_ Kyurem said before he left. _**"Hopefully all the pieces will be in our grasp. And then, our dreams can finally be realized."**_

* * *

As Nate, Brav and Luca exited the forest, Nate took a deep breath, before enjoying the warmth of outside the forest after having weathered through Kyurem's frigid cold air that he always emitted.

"Well now, so Hilbert and Hilda decided to pay us a visit, after disappearing for two years," Nate muttered. "Along with that lime-haired revolutionist. Keh! Fools, the lot of them."

"-So, this time we take the dragons from them?-" Luca asked somewhat eagerly.

"Yeah," Nate grinned. "Last time I still had some hesitation in me. But now, there's no mercy this time. Reshiram and Zekrom will be mine. And then Kyurem can finally become complete...and then..."

Nate's grin transcended into a far more malevolent sneer, his cold brown eyes becoming far more feral and insane. Luca's expression became rather eager as she sported a rather evil smirk, while Brav instead looked grim; narrowing his eyes in a rather regretful manner.

"This world will finally burn...it'll experience the same pain and suffering it made me go through all those years ago..." Nate solemnly stated. "No one's gonna win...not the current dexholders...nor Plasma...but us...we'll win...and we'll be the ones to watch Unova fall into shambles..."

The mere thought of the apocalypse the brunette yearned for made him feel so delighted that he couldn't help but clutch his own face in excitement.

"He...ehehe...heehee...heeehehehe..." Nate began to giggle madly, before going into a full maniacal guffaw. "HYAAAAAAAAHA HA HA HA HA! AHA...HAAHAHAHA...HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA!"

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN:** I also never said Nate was inherently 'good', did I? I mean yeah he isn't inherently 'evil' either, but he definitely wasn't playing for the heroes either; especially considering that Nate was quite possibly the biggest wild card out of the entire cast so far. Yep, probably predictably, his employer was the third dragon of Unova, Kyurem, and Nate's hidden agenda is finally revealed; which is pretty much destroying the world with Kyurem. Honestly I don't know who would be considered a bigger threat, the terrorist group or the megalomaniac plotting to restore a super legendary in hopes of destroying an entire region. Either way Unova's pretty much screwed. Does that mean Nate is going to become evil? Not necessarily, but you'll have to wait and see. Besides, that isn't the dirtiest secret he's keeping anyways.

And then there're the other characters; Yancy's pretty much questioning what she'll do with her life and Rosa's may or may not be starting to feel something the lines of jealousy (could this be...?) and picking up a certain Xtransceiver that a certain other idol lost. Hugh didn't get to do much this time, did he? ^^' Hey he got the biggest upgrade last chapter. He'll get more action later on.

Welp, that's about it for this chapter. Oh and a PSA: **Platinum Witch** is out, so I'd really like it if you could check it out. That and **Fidelity**. Judging from the initial reception I got for PW, I think I didn't screw up with it. Idk.

And to recap on the teams:

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Nite (Pignite) / Kid (Elekid) / Brav (Braviary)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Growlithe) / Mandi (Mandibuzz)

Hugh: Flygon / Servine / Magby / Tirtouga / Heracross

Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the chapter, hope you all had a happy holidays and hopefully 2016 isn't already kicking your ass, and as always, look forward to the next chapter. See ya next time.


	11. 11: Forged through Hypocrisy

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 11: Forged through Hypocrisy**

* * *

 **AN:** If you aren't excited for Pokemon Sun and Moon, then smh rn. We FINALLY got a new mainline game! Sure it's gonna come out in like holiday 2016, but still!

And now, for some reviews:

 **Eris:** Yeah...Yancy/Nancy treats Nate like some kind of god at this point; the girl is head over heels for him. And yeah, the gym battle must've been great considering the chapter prior was mostly plot and character development. And yeah, visorshipping is coming, don't worry. And yeah, Unova's fucked unless someone does something about it.

 **Tony Anderson:** Thanks man! And I hope you had a happy holidays too!

 **Guest:** Thanks! If Hugh and Rosa find out about Nate's genocide? We'll cross that bridge when it comes.

 **Knight of Wings:** Yeah I agree: great battle, good plot movement and character development, mainly between Nate and Nancy, and then BAM! Nate's revealed to be the villain protagonist! Overall, at this point this is more or less a test to see whether Nate can either see the good in humanity and stop his plans, or bring everything into destruction. At this point the key to Unova's survival is whether or not Nate can learn the power of friendship, and if someone can stop Ghetsis.

 **Killfith:** Yeah, Nate's been through a lot of shit. And yeah, Brav would be saddened. I mean if your adoptive child ended up growing up to become a maniacal maniac hellbent on genocide, you would feel sad that he ended up like that.

 **I . M. Poik:** Well, you'll find out today...Well if it makes you happy, this chapter is pretty Hugh-centric. Rosa? Well...better luck next time, I suppose. Although I did drop a few hints here and there. Don't worry, she'll get her screentime. And yeah, Nate reveals he wants nothing more than to destroy Unova. Y'know this is a pretty good case of contrasting sequel main character (see tv tropes).

 **TheDarkMaster4000:** Well first off, I'm glad you like all my stories, and my spin on the usual characters. And you seem to like Nate the most; although I'd like to know how you can relate to a megalomaniac like Nate when I didn't exactly reveal his backstory. Yeah the boy needs a hug, c'mon he needs one if THIS is the end result. But yeah, Ghetsis, and ironically Nate are the biggest threats to Unova, and they come in varying levels of jerkass. Sympathy-wise, I'm sure you all can agree to who needs more love...

 **zeffron42:** Okay, I'm going to be honest here. You actually pissed me off. Like legitimately struck a nerve. Like back in CoYS. Normally I would just shake it off, but your latest review actually struck a nerve.

Now, I'm not gonna do anything stupid like name calling or false accusations or anything like that. I mean I could rant my ass off right now, and as appealing and satisfying as that might be, in fact I was going to, but decided against it, I won't. I don't want any of the other readers to have to deal with that, and honestly it's just immature on my part.

I'm just going to say however: in your review, you told me to 'get creative', and make the chapters last. If you don't think that these battles which include a snivy beating up a Garbodor with a chair and table, and a gambit play like the one in the last chapter are 'creative', and you think that these chapters that clock in on 8K words on average isn't apparently long enough, then I honestly can't help you. Especially considering that everyone else praises them for being creative or something like that.

...So yeah, on with the show!

* * *

Morning arrived, waking up Rosa up from her slumber. Groggily waking up, the bun-haired girl yawned as she stretched her arms. Rosa rubbed her eyes; looking around the room they rented for the night. Hugh was still dead asleep, but there was an empty bunk bed above him.

"He still didn't come back last night..." Rosa mumbled to herself.

Nancy said that she would let Nate free before it became too late at night, and yet he's not back yet. She couldn't help but worry slightly for the boy's wellbeing; even if he could take care of himself.

"Where is he...?" Rosa asked, before getting up and waking Hugh up by throwing a pillow at him.

"Agh!?" Hugh yelped, before getting up clutching the pillow that had been thrown at him. "The hell was that for?!"

"Nate's still not back yet," Rosa stated, getting her stuff ready.

"Really?" Hugh asked as he looked up to the empty bunk. "Huh. That's strange..."

"We're looking for him," Rosa declared.

"Aren't you sure you're just overreacting?" Hugh asked as he got his stuff ready. "This is Nate we're talking about. He'll show up eventually."

Rosa groaned at Hugh's nonchalant attitude, but then again he did have a point. They were well aware of what Nate is capable of physically; it would be outright absurd if the frail-looking Nancy could somehow get the advantage over Nate physically.

Unless she somehow managed to seduce him to...

"No, that's impossible," Rosa shook her head.

"What?" Hugh asked.

"Nothing," Rosa swiftly replied as she left the room.

The two headed out of the pokécenter and were about to turn the corner, when they saw a crowd of people gathered around the side of a pokécenter.

"What's going on over there?" Hugh asked.

The two went over to the crowd, wondering to see what the commotion was about, as they overheard some rather interesting conversations among the people.

"Can you believe a boy would be sleeping out on a tree like that?"

"Isn't he cold? It was pretty chilly last night too."

"More like how can he sleep like that?"

Confused, Rosa and Hugh made their way through the crowd to see who they were talking about. Rosa's jaw dropped as she saw the boy they were looking for and whom Rosa was worried about, sleeping lazily on a high branch on a tree like nobody's business. Hugh simply had a rather disappointed look on his face, sighing in the process.

"Told you he would be fine," Hugh said to Rosa.

"What the–?!" Rosa blurted. "Oh my god..."

Rosa then proceeded to release Eve, who barked happily as she ran over to rub Rosa's leg affectionately.

"-Morning, Rosa!-" Eve barked.

"Eve, use Hyper Voice on Nate," Rosa commanded as she rubbed Eve's head and Hugh warned everyone else to cover their ears.

Eve tilted her head in confusion, but complied nonetheless. She looked around until she spotted Nate, and proceeded to unleash a strong Hyper Voice at the sleeping boy, savagely waking him up.

"AAAAAAAGAHAH!?" Nate screamed in pain as he then proceeded to fall off the tree and fell onto the cold ground. "FUCK!"

As Nate groaned in pain, Rosa and Hugh walked up to the boy, giving him a dissatisfied glance.

"The hell was that for...?" Nate grumbled.

"Rise and shine, you idiot," Rosa chastised him. "Where were you last night?"

"Huh? Last night?" Nate asked, before trying to recall what happened last night.

"You look like a guy with a hangover right now," Hugh snickered.

"Right, I was interviewed by Nancy last night, she let me go..." Nate recalled, before remembering what he did last night.

"And?" Rosa almost demanded.

"...And it was pretty damn late when she let me go, I came back here, found that you two were already asleep with a locked door, so I just decided 'fuck it', and went to sleep outside," Nate decided to omit some crucial details and told a half-truth.

Rosa arched an eyebrow, staring at Nate suspiciously, but decided to let the topic go.

"At least nothing happened," Rosa sighed in relief.

"Oh? Does someone actually care about me now?" Nate teased, cocking a smirk.

"Wha–?! No I wasn't!" Rosa flustered. "H-Hugh was more worried about you than I was!"

Nate glanced at Hugh, who returned the glance by shaking his head and mouthing 'bullshit'.

"Well whatever," Nate shrugged, before noticing the crowd. "The hell's going on here?"

"Well it isn't everyday people get to see a fourteen-year-old boy sleep outside like a monkey," Hugh shrugged.

"I see," Nate glowered slightly, before turning to the crowd. "Alright people, show's over, time to scram and go on with your everyday lives."

The crowd, seeing that the boy was awake, decided to leave, leaving the trio to head to their next destination.

"Don't you need to heal Luca and Nite?" Rosa asked.

"Oh don't worry I healed Luca–FUCK!" Nate began, before realizing that he neglected Nite. "I forgot about him."

Rosa and Hugh slapped their palms to their faces as Nate hastily released Nite and quickly got to healing him.

"Sorry 'bout that buddy," Nate said sheepishly. "You okay?"

"-Gueh...I-It's no biggy, Boss,-" Nite groaned as the potion did its work. "-This was just another test right? A strong warrior must endure any kind of pain. That was your plan, right Boss?-"

"...Sure," Nate decided to roll with it. "Let's go with that. Yep, totally my plan. I totally didn't forget to heal you last night or anything."

For the sake of Nite's self-esteem, Rosa and Hugh decided to play along too, before packing it up and heading out of the city.

"Alright, now where do we go?" Nate asked.

"The next gym was in Driftveil, according to Elesa," Rosa replied. "So that's our next stop."

"Alright then," Hugh nodded, before noticing something. "Huh?"

Nate and Rosa glanced at Hugh, before glancing over to where he was looking at. At the gate leading to the next route, was a familiar bubble-gum haired girl waiting nearby the gate, looking around frantically and hiding her face underneath her white sun hat.

"...You can't be serious..." Nate muttered, recognizing the girl and approached her. "Yo–."

The girl jumped, before frantically swatting Nate's face.

"Ah–No! I'm not who you think!" the girl squealed in panic.

"AGH! My face..." Nate groaned, before grabbing a hold of her. "Yancy, calm down. It's me!"

"...What?" Yancy asked, calming down. "Nate?"

"No, it's Santa Claus, of course it's me!" Nate snarked.

"I'm so sorry!" Yancy hastily apologized. "I thought you were someone else..."

"What're you doing here?" Nate asked as Rosa and Hugh came up to them.

"Uh yeah, I was uh, around town..." Yancy said nervously. "And I saw that exhibition match you had with m-Nancy and I figured, 'hey why don't I catch up with you', and yeah...but you were dragged away by her, so I couldn't catch you..."

"Okay calm down," Nate muttered.

"A-And I was wondering...if I-I could come with you guys?" Yancy asked.

"Huh?" Nate asked, while Rosa and Hugh glanced at her curiously. "Uh...speaking of which, Roxie actually sent me a message that she wanted you to see. In private, so..."

Nate went over to Yancy and brought her away from the other two, knelt down slightly and huddling near her while making sure Rosa and Hugh couldn't hear what he would say to her.

"Tell me you know that's a lie," Nate muttered.

"Uh huh..." Yancy nodded.

"Alright, what's the deal?" Nate asked in a hushed tone. "What happened to the idol biz? Did your manager even allow this?"

"Uh...I wanted to take a break from the idol biz..." Yancy mumbled. "Yeah, and so I asked for a vacation, and left."

"A vacation?" Nate glanced at her doubtingly. "They would just let you take a vacation all by yourself without any kind of protection whatsoever?"

"Uh...y-yeah...?" Yancy replied weakly.

"...Yeah, bullshit," Nate obviously didn't buy it. "...What really happened...?"

"Uh...well I..." Yancy mumbled. "C-Can we just leave the city? I'll tell you later, I promise. Can we just...?"

Nate glanced at Yancy disapprovingly. The girl was obviously hiding something; which she apparently would reveal as soon as they left the city. But why she wanted to leave the city so badly was suspicious, to say the least. It was as if she wanted to get away from something before it managed to track her down. The boy wanted to protest, but the pleading, almost desperate look on her face made it hard for even him to argue. While normally anyone else would get a solid 'no', since it was her...

"...I'm gonna regret this one way or another..." Nate sighed. "Fine, you can come along."

"Really?" Yancy gasped, expression lightening up.

"But you will explain what the real reason behind this is," Nate said sternly. "Doesn't have to be now, but I will get answers."

"Of course!" Yancy smiled happily.

"Right," Nate said, before turning to Rosa and Hugh. "So apparently she wants to come along with us. That cool with you two?"

Rosa and Hugh glanced at each other for a moment, before glancing back to him.

"Sure, I don't see a problem," Hugh said.

"...Well...I guess it shouldn't be a problem..." Rosa mumbled somewhat reluctantly.

"Great, so it's decided then," Nate said, before turning back to Yancy. "Welcome aboard. You don't have a right to regret your decisions anymore."

Yancy felt a little intimidated by his statement, but nonetheless smiled gratefully, ecstatic that they accepted her to their group.

"Thank you!" Yancy squealed, clinging onto Nate's arm.

"The hell?" Nate blurted, surprised by the sudden action.

"Ah–sorry," Yancy mumbled, blushing in embarrassment.

Rosa stared at Yancy disapprovingly, but shook it off as they began to move ahead.

"So, where are you guys going?" Yancy asked, following behind Nate dutifully.

"Driftveil," Nate replied. "The next gym's there."

"Ah," Yancy mouthed in understanding as she followed him.

As the two bgan to talk, Rosa kept her disapproving glare at Yancy, who didn't notice the glare.

"What? You jealous or something?" Hugh asked from besides her.

"W-Wha–?" Rosa blurted, her cheeks heating up. "I'm not jealous! Why would I be jealous?!"

"Then what is your problem with her then?" Hugh asked, not buying it for a second.

"It's just...she seems suspicious..." Rosa muttered. "I don't know, just, there's something up..."

"...Well it's no use just glaring at the poor girl," Hugh reasoned. "Just talk to her when you get the chance."

"Well...alright then..." Rosa muttered as she narrowed her eyes back at Nate and Yancy, who were having their own conversation.

As the group passed through the gate leading to Route 4, they failed to see the breaking news that was going on:

' _Famous Pop Idol Nancy is declared missing after sudden disappearance.'_

* * *

"C'mon man! Let's have fun stealing Pokémon together, like we did before!"

At Driftveil City, at the entrance bridge, two men were arguing with one another. One was a Team Plasma grunt sporting the usual black militaristic uniform, but the other was wearing a white medieval-like uniform. The one in black seemed to be trying to convince the one in white, the knightly-looking fellow having a disapproving look on his face.

"I can't," the one in white shook his head. "I've learned the hard way that stealing from others is wrong. You should've learned that as well back then!"

"Oh come on!" the one in black rolled his eyes. "It's too late now to act all goody-two-shoes now! We need to steal their Pokémon for our cause!"

"What cause?!" the one in white raised his voice. "We foolishly believed in that monster Ghetsis and stole people's Pokémon and look where that led to! We were all just puppets under his grand scheme...even Lord N...even now! You're just being used by Ghetsis again!"

The one in black suddenly contorted into rage, as he punched the one in white onto the cement pavement of the bridge.

"People just didn't understand our just cause back then!" the one in black shot back. "And they would've too if that bastard Hilbert and turncoat Hilda hadn't interfered! Now we have another chance to make them understand out just cause!"

The one in white painfully got back up, glaring daggers into the one in black.

"Don't the call you a villain who was planning world domination?" the one in black questioned. "Even though you quit Team Plasma, people are still really cold to you, right?"

"I can say the same thing about you," the one in white spat disdainfully.

"So you might as well just come back and steal Pokémon with us and take over the world again!" the one in black insisted. "C'mon man! Let's show those bastards who're mean to you the power of Team Plasma! They'll be groveling at your feet and saying how great you are!"

"...No..." the one in white insisted, gritting his teeth in anger. "I will not go back down that road. Lord N will never approve of that. Lady Hilda will never approve of that. There's no good in glory when it's earned from fear and hatred!"

"N!" the one in black scoffed. "What a joke! He's nothing more than a traitor! And that whore! She just wanted that bastard Hilbert's cock so badly that she turned her back on us! Team Plasma! The group that raised her ever since she was a _child_! They both disappeared somewhere and abandoned us when we needed them! Those two are just worthless traitors, and that Hilbert should never have existed in the first place!"

"...Beat me up, if you must," the one in white was now seething in rage. "But do not mock Lord Hilbert and Lady Hilda...and DO NOT mock Lord N..."

"Oh yeah?!" the one in black snarled. "What're you gonna do about it?!"

"Hey!"

The two men looked up in confusion to the direction of the sudden new voice, only to see what can be described as a raging man with a qwilfish do bolting over to the man in black and smashing his fist into the one in black's face, launching him so hard that he bounced off the bridge twice before falling down.

"Secret talking, eh?! Plasma scum!" Hugh snarled.

"Oww..." the one in black moaned in pain as he nursed his cheek. "You're gonna pay for that!"

"Oh really now?"

The two now looked to see another figure behind Hugh, which could only be described as a boy around qwilfish-head's age that bore a striking similarity to Hilbert, but with a much more malevolent expression while tossing an actual knife in his hand.

"Y-You're Nate Warren...!" the one in black gasped in fear, recognizing him as one of Team Plasma's high-ranking threats and targets.

"You two wanna brawl? Lemme in on the fun," Nate said in a sadistic hiss. "I'll be sure to REALLY spice up the party."

The one in black began sweating. The qwilfish-head, he could take, but two on one was something he had little confidence of. Especially if the other was Nate Warren, known psychopath with an actual weapon and with confirmed knowledge of actual street-brawls. He was way more dangerous than qwilfish head, and even more so if qwilfish head and his apparently monstrous strength was aiding him.

"Tch! I'm not supposed to cause any trouble anyways," the one in black made an excuse. "I'll get you next time!"

The one in black made a run for it, ditching the one in white and the others.

"Get back here!" Hugh roared, chasing after the one in black.

Nate simply huffed as Rosa and Yancy caught up to him.

"What's his problem...?" Yancy asked.

"Oh, he just hates Team Plasma with the passion of a electabuzz versus the color red," Nate shrugged as Rosa went over to help up the man in white.

"Are you alright?" Rosa asked as she offered him her hand, which he accepted.

"Thank you," the man in white said as he got up with her help. "I'm terribly sorry for that..."

"It's alright," Rosa assured him. "Although are you alright?"

"Yes..." the man in white said. "That man your friend is chasing down and I used to be friends...but two years ago, after Team Plasma's fall, we split up into two groups. One that still follows Lord N who want to save Pokémon, and one that follows Ghetsis who plans to take over the world..."

"Is that so..." Nate mused, staring at the man in white. "So you're with the group that follows N..."

"Yes," the man in white confirmed.

"...Curious, what happened to him?" Nate asked. "You know where he went?"

"...Unfortunately no..." the man in white said. "He left to parts unknown...although we believe that he is out there saving Pokémon, so we will wait for his return."

Nate glowered at the man. Damn it, so no leads to where the Hero of Truth was.

"Although, his zoroark is still here," the man in white offered. "As I recall, according to my friend that your friend chased off, you can communicate with Pokémon. Perhaps you can get some info from him regarding Lord N."

"His zoroark is here?" Nate asked, surprised.

"Well technically, his zorua that is his zoroark's son," the man in white explained. "He left the zorua with Team Plasma when he left. It's now living here, having evolved into a zoroark."

"...Interesting..." Nate said, forming a small smirk on his face. "You mind leading the way to the zoroark?"

"Of course," the man in white said. "Follow me."

The man made his way back to his home, where Nate, Yancy and Rosa followed behind him, with the pinkette following him dutifully.

' _Man...It's so obvious she has a crush on him...'_ Rosa thought. _'The poor soul...falling in love with_ Nate _of all people...'_

But seeing how Yancy loyally followed Nate without a care in the world, and seeing how Nate treated Yancy with a lot more respect than he treated her, something inside of Rosa burned. She didn't like it.

As the group reached a safehouse on a nearby hill, they could hear some ruckus going on from the house.

"What the...?" the man in white asked.

They approached the house, where the ruckus became louder, but suddenly a zoroark burst through the doors, followed by a familiar blue colt assaulting the fox.

"The hell?!" Nate blurted, getting in front of Yancy and Rosa. "Keldeo?!"

The zoroark rushed past them, where Keldeo snarled and pursued the zoroark into the neighboring route, ignoring Nate in the process.

"Wasn't that Keldeo?!" Rosa gasped.

"Oh hell no!" Nate growled as he suddenly went after them.

"Ah, Nate!" Yancy cried.

"You stay here!" Nate yelled as he ran out to the next route.

Yancy wanted to follow, but decided to listen to him and stay there with Rosa, much to her chagrin.

"Everyone!" the man in white cried as he rushed into the house.

* * *

Rosa and Yancy followed him into the safehouse. The place was in utter shambles; broken tables, shattered windows, stuff messily scattered everywhere, and many of the people inside were injured.

"Sir Rood!" the man in white gasped as he tended to the injured man in the robe.

"Oh...Rook," the robed man, Rood, replied weakly. "I see that you are alright..."

"What happened here?!" the man in white, now known as Rook, asked.

"That keldeo suddenly intruded the safehouse..." Rood muttered groggily as he got back up. "We couldn't fight him off, but Zoroark managed to fight it, and led it outside of the safehouse into Route 6."

"But why would it attack you all out of the blue...?" Rosa asked. If she recalled back in Floccesy Town, Keldeo did know that Team Plasma was back. But did it know about the old Team Plasma as well?

"We do not know," Rood replied. "However, we have reason to believe it despises humans; especially us, for long ago, we had captured the Three Swords of Justice, Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion, essentially taking Keldeo's family away from it."

"What?!" Rosa and Yancy gasped.

"Presumably, it sought out vengeance for us taking its family away from it," Rood said. "I also apologize for the mess...I wished that we could greet you all to a nicer abode..."

"N-No, it's quite alright," Yancy assured them. "It's not your fault that Keldeo suddenly dropped by..."

"Indeed..." Rood smiled weakly. "Oh, I suppose I should introduce ourselves. I am Rood. We are former members of Team Plasma. Because of the Plasma Raid that occurred two years ago, we started taking care of the Pokémon that were separated from their trainers as a way to atone for our misdeeds."

Rosa and Yancy glanced at the priest curiously, before noticing a bunch of smaller Pokémon emerging from behind him. A lillipup and a growlithe stared at them curiously, while an unfamiliar tiny furry tic Pokémon rested on the lillipup's head and a small white ursine Pokémon with a light blue head with light blue nasal mucus hanging out from its nose. Seeing the new Pokémon, Rosa scanned them with her pokédex.

"Joltik, the attaching Pokémon. Since it can't generate its own electricity, it sticks onto large-bodied Pokémon and absorbs static electricity."

"Cubchoo, the chill Pokémon. Their snot is a barometer of health. When healthy, their snot is sticky and the power of their ice moves increases."

"Aw, how cute," Yancy giggled as she kneeled down to their level.

The lillipup, growlithe and cubchoo went over to Yancy curiously, where the joltik jumped off of Growlithe's head and onto her hand. Yancy giggled as she petted the small tic, much to its delight.

"You've been taking care of all them?" Rosa asked.

"There are more in the back," Rood said. "But they are all in the middle of receiving treatment. They tried to fend off Keldeo, but the colt proved to be too strong."

"Keh! Serves you right."

Everyone turned to see Hugh at the door with a furious expression on his face, looking like he was reayd to explode at any moment.

"Hugh?" Rosa asked. "Where have you been? Also how did you know where to look?"

"The bastard got away," Hugh replied. "And Nate told me you would be here."

"Another friend of yours, I presume?" Rood asked.

"You guys are all Team Plasma too, right?" Hugh asked.

"Hugh, not now!" Rosa reprimanded, knowing full well what would happen next.

"Well, former, but yes," Rood replied. "And you are?"

"The name's Hugh Matis," Hugh growled. "From Aspertia City... Five years ago, Team Plasma–no, you scum–stole my little sister's Pokémon."

Yancy looked shocked as the Pokémon around her began to cower behind her, while Rosa had a sad, almost pained look on her face, knowing full well where this would go.

"I'm the pathetic trainer who wasn't able to stop you, when you all came in and stole it from her on her fifth birthday!" Hugh snarled, his voice increasing. "And I heard your little sob story back there. 'Separated'? What a joke! YOU were the thieves who stole them in the first place!"

Rood's expression looked shocked, before he lowered his head in shame, as if the message was settling into him.

"Is that so..." Rood said sadly. "...My sincerest apologies..."

"Just an apology...?" Hugh asked eerily quietly, before contorting into pure rage. "Just an apology!? That's fucking it!? Bullshit!"

Hugh went over and grabbed Rood by his collar, lifting the man up by it.

"Hugh!" Rosa cried.

"Where's my sister's Pokémon, huh?! Purrloin!" Hugh demanded. "ANSWER ME DAMN IT! **WHERE THE FUCK IS HER PURRLOIN!?** "

"...The Pokémon you speak of is not in this place," Rood said, not wavering to Hugh's rage, but looking ashamed like all the others around him in the safehouse. "I imagine it is still being used by Team Plasma now. Just as you say, our apologies mean nothing; they do not solve anything. But you cannot move forward unless you admit you were wrong and apologize..."

If looks could kill, then Hugh's death glare would've murdered Rood twice over by now. The bluenette growled incoherently in rage, dropped Rood, and stormed out of the house. Not a moment later, a loud, angry scream could be heard from outside, and the sound of glass shattering soon accompanied it.

"Hugh..." Rosa mumbled sympathetically, before turning to Rood. "I apologize for my friend. That was totally uncalled for..."

"No, he is right. We are at fault for his suffering." Rood admitted sadly. "Team Plasma had made trainers like him suffer...I feel terrible about it...we were foolish to think that thievery like that could truly be for the freedom of Pokémon."

"But you all learned that and are doing your best to repent," Yancy insisted. "It's not like you didn't regret doing it...you felt bad...so you all are doing your best to try and apologize for it."

"At least that's respectable," Rosa agreed. "You aren't wallowing in your own despair and sadness...you're trying to atone for your sins the best you can, even if it isn't much..."

Rood, along with the other former Team Plasma members looked at Rosa with genuine shock, and then replaced said shock with a warm smile.

"Thank you...you flatter me ma'am," Rood said. "Oh, I haven't asked for you names, have I?"

"I'm Yancy..." Yancy mumbled.

"And I am Rosa Echoes," Rosa introduced herself in her standard boisterous tone. "And I am the future champion of Unova."

"Well, well, such a grand goal you have there," Rood said. "Let me introduce myself. I am Rood. And you are always welcome here, Ms. Echoes, Ms. Yancy."

"Oh, that's right!" Yancy suddenly remembered. "We still need to find Nate!"

"There is another?" Rood asked.

"Yes, he went after Zoroark and Keldeo," Rosa explained.

"Then I suggest you wait here for him," Rood suggested. "If he is going after Zoroark, then they will most certainly come back here."

"What's so special about that zoroark, anyways?" Rosa asked. "Rook said that the zoroark is the son of N's zoroark..."

"Ah yes," Rood said. "Zoroark is Lord N's zoroark's offspring. They left him here as a zorua, wanting it to learn a new life away from Team Plasma's misdemeanors. We figured that living here learning to help Pokémon sincerely would teach him to stray away from the former Team Plasma's teachings..."

* * *

Hugh managed to patch up his hand after having smash a nearby glass pot out of rage and removing the last glass shard out of his hand.

"Goddamn it!" Hugh fumed. "The nerve of those bastards! 'My sincerest apologies'? Bullshit! Apologizing isn't going to get Val's Purrloin back! Goddamn it!"

Still in a fit of rage, the bluenette stormed off into the streets, before noticing that the entrance to Route 6 was nearby. If he recalled, Nate told him where Rosa and Yancy were, before rushing off into Route 6 for some reason.

' _Huh? Rosa and Yancy? Oh they're in that warehouse nearby the hill.'_

He seemed to be in a hurry as well. Hugh glanced at the route. The boy was enraged, raring for something to hit or battle for that matter as an outlet. Perhaps following Nate would provide such an outlet.

Nodding, Hugh headed into Route 6, determined to track down Nate.

* * *

Nate growled as he jumped over another amoonguss, looking around the route for Zoroark and/or Keldeo.

"Damn it, a black fox and a legendary colt are trying to kill each other here...how the hell can I NOT find them?!" Nate grumbled in frustration as he kept looking around.

Nate needed to find Zoroark. If he did belong to N once, then surely the zoroark knew where the man went, or planned to leave, or something. He needed to know where the lime-haired extremist was at all costs. N had Reshiram after all. If he could hunt down Reshiram and capture it, then half of his job would be finished. Hell, the distress of Reshiram might even attract Zekrom to him, killing two birds with one stone. If he could somehow capture Reshiram, then surely he could do the same with Zekrom.

Now all he needed to do was find Zoroark, which proved to be a challenge on its own.

"Damn it...!" Nate hissed.

As he was about to move on however, he stopped. Nate glowered as he glanced around, sniffing into the air like a dog.

"...Aha..." Nate muttered, before glancing over to a nearby tranquill that was resting on a nearby tree.

The boy stared at said tranquill, before pulling out his pokédex and scanned it.

"Zoroark, the illusion fox, Pokémon. Stories say those tried to catch Zoroark were trapped in an illusion and punished."

"Crafty little fox aren't ya?" Nate smirked as the 'tranquill' gritted its beak and jumped off, disabling its illusions and transforming back into Zoroark.

"-How the hell did you know?-" Zoroark demanded.

"I'm kinda different from normal humans," Nate smirked, pointing to his nose.

"-You can talk to Pokémon...?-" Zoroark asked disbelievingly. "-And you can snuff me out...Who are you?-"

"You remember Hilbert Warren?" Nate asked, getting the fox's interest. "I'm his little brother."

"-He had a brother?-" Zoroark asked.

"Yeah, long story," Nate shrugged. "So, why are you hiding out here? What happened to Keldeo?"

"-You mean that blue colt bastard?-" Zoroark hissed. "-That crazy bitch tried to kill me! I'm hiding out here to NOT die. Well until you showed up and screwed my cover.-"

"Cool story," Nate said uncaringly. "Curious, you know N, right?"

Zoroark leered at the boy, hissing lightly.

"-N...-" Zoroark grumbled. "-...What do you want with him?-"

"I wanted to know if you knew where he was," Nate explained. "He has something I want."

"-The hell if I knew,-" Zoroark retorted. "-He and Mom disappeared and left me here for two years.-"

"Huh, you don't seem to like him very much, do you?" Nate asked.

"-THEY LEFT ME HERE!-" Zoroark growled. "-They could've taken me with them, but NOO! They left me here and left on their own! What mother–no–what FAMILY leaves their own behind!?-"

 _Sorry, but I don't have a brother..._

Nate visibly became rigid at the fox's growl. So his family abandoned him...

"So you were abandoned by family too..." Nate muttered.

Zoroark glanced at him confused, and was about to ask him what he meant by that, until a stray Hydro Pump shot out of nowhere and blasted the ground between them, making them jump back.

"The hell?" Nate asked, until he glanced over to the direction of the Hydro Pump and saw an angry Keldeo. "Oh yeah, you were hiding from him."

"-Hah! Finally found you, damn Plasma scum,-" Keldeo snarled as he approached Zoroark, until noticing Nate. "-...And what're you doing here?-"

"Oh me? Well I was kinda in the neighborhood, and this guy apparently has information that I could use," Nate replied casually, pointing to Zoroark. "And then you tried to blast me with steel-denting amounts of water."

Keldeo narrowed his eyes at the human before approaching Zoroark, who got into a defensive stance.

"-Out of the way,-" Keldeo demanded. "-I'm here to deal with Plasma scum.-"

Zoroark growled, but Nate got in front of the fox.

"-Huh...?-" Zoroark asked.

"-What's the meaning of this?-" Keldeo asked dangerously.

"Like I said, I still need information out of this guy, and I can't get it out of him if he's dead," Nate said. "Besides...I can kinda relate with the guy...we both know what it's like to have a family abandon you..."

"-You...-" Zoroark muttered.

Keldeo glared at Nate as he pointed his horn at him.

"-Out of my way,-" Keldeo threatened. "-Even if it's you...I will kill all involved with Plasma, and if you stand in my way, I will kill you along with him.-"

"It looks like we're in an impasse then," Nate replied as he released Brav and Kid.

* * *

Hugh glowered as he saw the several cleave marks on the rocks as he made his way through Route 6. These were definitely from a battle of some sorts.

"What the hell's going on?" Hugh muttered as he released Magby and Heracross.

"-What's going on?-" Magby asked as he and Heracross followed Hugh down the route.

Heracross looked up, and suddenly stopped, grabbing Hugh and Magby and jumping back to avoid a stray Hydro Pump from hitting them.

"-That was close...-" Heracross muttered.

"The hell did that come from?" Hugh muttered, before looking up and gasping at the sight.

Keldeo slammed his sword at Nate, who stepped out of the way as Brav descended down upon the colt. He lifted his sword up, intercepting the eagle's claw with the sword. Brav flew back, as Kid dashed underneath Keldeo and smashed a Thunder Punch into his gut.

"-Guh!-" Keldeo grunted, before kicking Kid asides. "-Out of my way!-"

"-Tch!-" Kid grunted.

Keldeo lunged for Zoroark, but Nate got in the way, grabbing Keldeo's sword before it could skewer Zoroark.

"Gh...!" Nate grunted as he felt the blade starting to sink into his skin.

"-Why the hell are you getting in my way!?-" Keldeo growled. "-He's with Team Plasma!-"

"No, he's with the old Team Plasma!" Nate growled. "The one who actually try to say sorry but no one believes them like the boy who cried wolf! And I still need him to get info!"

"-They're all the same!-" Keldeo roared as he swung Nate into a tree. "-Old or not! They did so many things to harm both humanity and Pokémon! Things that are inexcusable!-"

Zoroark gritted his teeth and glared at Keldeo, even if the colt was right. No matter what they did; no matter how hard Rood and the others try to atone for their crimes, the fact that they committed those crimes in the first place will never change. Even N and his own mother were not exempt from that. As the faux leader of Team Plasma, they were responsible for leading the forefront of the terrors that Team Plasma waged.

"See, I can understand why you're pissed off at Plasma," Nate replied. "Sure I can understand your urge to kill 'em all. But are you gonna go kill off the innocent?"

"-Who in Team Plasma is innocent?!-" Keldeo growled.

"What about those who didn't know any better?" Nate questioned. "Those who had no choice but to follow their lead? Those who were lied to and manipulated their whole lives? It's not like everyone in Plasma had that hive mentality."

"-It doesn't matter! They're all still guilty!-" Keldeo yelled.

"So would you kill a small child if they were guilty of the same crime?" Nate asked, causing Keldeo to recoil. "If a small child was told to commit the same crimes, despite not knowing any better and simply listening to the others since they don't know better, would you still kill a small, defenseless child? What about the elderly, who're too weak to do anything?"

"-They're all guilty!-" Keldeo snarled. "-I don't care if they're just kids or not! They should know better!-"

"-Damn, that's just harsh,-" Kid muttered.

"-Whether they are guilty or not, they are still children,-" Brav reprimanded.

"-I don't care!-" Keldeo shot at Brav. "-They're all guilty of their crimes! Just saying that they're just kids or old people or whatever! They still committed the crimes! They should still pay!-"

"Even if that means killing them?" Nate asked, glowering in disapproval.

"-They will know justice,-" Keldeo growled.

"Damn, you're sounding like Matis whenever he sees a Plasma," Nate shook his head, earning the boy's attention. "You're so engulfed in your own rage and hatred that you're on a strict black and white morality. Just because they're designated as such, you think they're guilty. Everything isn't exactly cookie-cutter, y'know. There is good from bad; you just suck at deciphering one from the other."

Hugh recoiled at that. It reminded him of his own anger towards Team Plasma; sure they were responsible for stealing his sister's purrloin, but who's to say that everyone was guilty? There could be people who actually didn't know better and were doing them because they actually believe they were making a difference. Sure there were those who had malicious intents, like that one grunt at the beginning of Driftveil, but who's to say there were others who thought otherwise. Hell, there was even the old Team Plasma he yelled at. They all saw the errors of their ways and wanted to repent for their past sins, yet he didn't see it; he called them out for their past misdemeanors and labeled them all as the same; ignoring their efforts to atone for themselves.

Keldeo seemed to be affected by the small speech, and went silent for a moment, seemingly considering his words.

' _-Wise words,-'_ Brav thought. _'-Although the hypocrisy in those words are very strong, Nate.-'_

"Indeed, however you can still argue the opposite."

Everyone glanced up to the top of a nearby cave. On top of the entrance were three identical men. They had long white hair and grey eyes, each wearing a face mask and a black and grey sleeveless tunic with baggy pants. Their ice cold stares bore into everyone there, unfazed by the dead stare from Keldeo along with the confused glares from Nate and Hugh.

"They have their black and white morality for a reason," the leading man said. "If there is good, then there is also evil. No matter who they are, they still have committed the crimes that is deemed worthy of punishment. It's whether you deem it worthy of punishing it that matters."

"-...You...-" Keldeo said in an eerily calm tone.

"Who the hell are you?!" Hugh demanded.

"Oh, it's been a while," Nate muttered. "Shadow Triad, if I recall correctly, right?"

"It's been a while, boy," the lead Triad replied. "As always, you continue to be a thorn in our side."

"Sh-Shadow Triad...?" Hugh murmured, trying to recall where he heard that from, until it hit him.

" _Aspertia City...yes, now I remember," Colress said. "That was the sight for Team Plasma's first liberation mission, if I recall."_

" _Who was involved in that?!" Hugh demanded._

" _Your demands should be pointed to the Shadow Triad," Colress said._

Of course! Back in Route 4, that scientist Colress said that the Shadow Triad were involved in a liberation mission in Aspertia. And the only incident where Team Plasma attacked Aspertia was...

"Hey!" Hugh yelled at them. "You're the Shadow Triad?!"

"So what of it?" the one on the left asked.

"Do you remember stealing a purrloin from a little girl in Aspertia City five years ago?" Hugh questioned.

"Aspertia...?" the leading triad asked, before remembering something. "Oh...that..."

"So you do remember it!" Hugh yelled. "Tell me where it is! Where's my sister's purrloin!"

"Very well," the triad member said, taking out a pokéball. "This is probably it."

From the pokéball, the triad released a liepard that landed in front of them, snarling at them with a feral expression.

"W-What...?" Hugh asked, his expression filled with dread.

"I stole this Pokémon five years ago in Aspertia as the first act of Team Plasma," the triad explained. "It's likely that Liepard here is the same purrloin that you're looking for."

Hugh glanced to Liepard with a horrified expression. He tried to approach the leopard, but Liepard snarled and swiped its claw at the boy, leaving a scratch mark on his cheek. Heracross and Magby jumped and brought the boy back away from the feral Pokémon.

"P-Purrloin...? I-It's me...Hugh..." Hugh pleaded with a desperate tone. "You gotta remember me...right...?"

Liepard didn't flinch at all, steeling its menacing glare as it hissed at them.

"Try as you want," the triad said. "But after five years of it being under my command, it will only listen to me. Such is the fate of a Pokémon trapped in a pokéball. Whoever has the leash, has complete control."

"Y-You stop shitting with me!" Hugh yelled. "Th–That's someone else's Pokémon!"

"Hmph...I feel sorry for Pokémon, to be honest," he went on. "They're ruled by pokéballs, and the whims of the trainer who holds it. So if I say, 'attack the bluenette'..."

At response, Liepard lunged for Hugh without hesitation, but Heracross parried the attack and pushed Liepard away.

"...It would listen to my command without hesitation," the triad member said.

Hugh's expression dropped to one of complete despair; his entire ambitions; the very reason why he wanted to become strong and defeat Team Plasma was right now trying to harm him. He felt as if his whole world was crashing down upon him.

"Lord Ghetsis spoke of Pokémon liberation two years ago simply for his own ambitions," the member said. "However...if his plans had succeeded, many Pokémon would have been saved. This Liepard–well, Purrloin, to you at least–if it had been released, it might have returned to you."

"Yeah, well that's just a big 'what if'," Nate interjected. "Had the shitty priest's plans worked out two years ago, I doubt the liepard would return to Matis. It was with you for three years then. It would've still stuck with you, as cruel as it is to him."

"Hmph, they're all hypotheticals, in the end," the one to the middle's right shrugged. "We can never know now."

The liepard was about to lunge at Hugh once more, but Keldeo intercepted it, slamming his sword down upon the feline, making Hugh react.

"-I don't give a crap about your problems,-" Keldeo hissed, before glaring at the Shadow Triad. "-YOU! YOU PIECES OF SHIT WERE THE ONES THAT TOOK MY FAMILY AWAY FROM ME!-"

"-Y-You too...?-" Zoroark asked, shocked by Keldeo's revelation.

"Hm, looks like we all have something in common," Nate told Zoroark.

"Oh, it's been a while," the middle member said as he recalled Liepard. "We certainly remember you...I do believe a reunion is in order here..."

The man took out an unfamiliar, black and blue pokéball and released a goat-like, quadruped Pokémon that is covered in aqua blue fur with yellow horns similar in shape to thunderbolts, whom landed in front of them and glowered at Keldeo with a cold, soulless blue gaze.

"Oh fuck," Nate muttered, recognizing the goat and took out his pokédex to scan it.

"Cobalion, the iron will Pokémon. It has a body and heart of steel. It worked with its allies to punish people when they hurt Pokémon."

"How ironic. A Pokémon of such valor is working for us," the man sneered.

"-M-Master...-" Keldeo gaped. His master; his family that he had lost two years ago and spent the time searching for, was staring down on him right now.

"A touching family reunion this might be," the man muttered. "But there are more important matters to attend to. Cobalion."

The goat reacted by producing a long sword on its forehead.

"Of course..." Nate muttered, motioning Brav and Kid to get ready.

"Attack them."

* * *

Cobalion roared as he charged at them, sword brandished to slam upon them. Everyone jumped out of the way to avoid the attack, but Cobalion charged at Keldeo without flinching. The colt intercepted Cobalion's sword with his own sword. Keldeo gritted his teeth, before managing to push Cobalion back.

"Flash Cannon."

Cobalion stepped back, before his entire body began to glow and blasted Keldeo with the light. Keldeo retaliated with a Hydro Pump, but the Flash Cannon managed to overpower it and hit him.

"-Guh!-" Keldeo grunted as he flew back from the Flash Cannon.

"Tch! Brav, Superpower! Kid, Low Kick!" Nate yelled.

Brav charged at Cobalion and smashed his talon at the goat, but Cobalion met it with his sword. However while he was distracted, Kid slid underneath Cobalion and swiped his legs, causing the goat to trip and lose his balance, allowing Brav to smash Cobalion into the ground.

"Stone Edge."

Before Brav could pull away, Cobalion glared at the eagle, where several jagged rocks shot out form the ground around him and stabbed Brav in the wings.

"-Guoh?!-" Brav winced in pain as he fell to the ground, releasing Cobalion in the process.

As Brav wilted onto the ground, Cobalion stood back up, glaring at Brav mercilessly. He was about to trample Brav, until Kid got in the way, blasting him with a Shock Wave to distract him. The attack did little to him, as Cobalion glared at Kid without flinching at all.

"-Raaagh!-" Keldeo roared as he slashed Cobalion from behind with a Sacred Sword attack.

The attack did notable damage, as Cobalion winced from it and kneeled down slightly in pain. Kid and Keldeo jumped at Cobalion, but the goat stood back up and released a bright burst of energy, blasting them away.

"-Agh!-" Kid yelped as he flew into Nate, who caught him, while Keldeo was sent into a tree, until Zoroark jumped and caught the colt.

"-Ugh...-" Keldeo grunted, before noticing Zoroark. "-...Th-thanks...I guess...-"

"-Yeah, yeah,-" Zoroark muttered.

Cobalion faced Zoroark, who still had Keldeo, and charged at them. Zoroark quickly spewed flames at Cobalion, but the goat charged through the flames unfazed, and proceeded to ram into them.

"-Gueh!?-" Zoroark gagged from being sandwiched between the force of Cobalion and the tree that was behind him.

Keldeo managed to kick Cobalion in the face, kicking him away, before Kid and a recovered Brav assaulted Cobalion.

"Damn this is gonna take a while..." Nate muttered, before glancing to a still shell-shocked Hugh. "Yo! Would you at least lend a hand?!"

Hugh was still in a shocked state; probably due to learning that everything he did up to this point was all brought down to null. Gritting his teeth, Nate went over to Hugh, ripping him out of Heracross's grip and holding him up by the collar.

"Get a grip, would you?!" Nate yelled. "We're in the middle of a battle! The least you can do is help out here!"

Hugh still had a terrified expression filled with despair on his face; prompting Nate to punch him in the face.

"Enough of this!" Nate growled. "We are in the middle of a battle! They're trying to kill us here! So stop feeling sorry for yourself and FIGHT!"

"-Hey! He's going through a mid-life crisis right now!-" Heracross yelled.

"Well he won't be able to do anything else if they kill him!" Nate shot back, before glancing back to Hugh. "So is that it, huh?! You feel sorry for yourself because the purrloin that was stolen five years ago actually changed?! I told you this was a wild goose chase to begin with!"

"P-Purrloin..." Hugh quivered.

"Oh would you quit it already!?" Nate yelled, becoming more frustrated. "Look here! You're not the only one who's been affected by Team Plasma! There are countless others who were affected by Plasma's deeds two years ago, and there are going to be even more who will be affected by the new Plasma's deed if we don't do something about it! There will be more Pokémon just like the liepard who will suffer under their tyranny, while you're just here wallowing in your own self-pity, so unless you 're okay with that happening, then get your shit together and **FIGHT, DAMN IT**!"

Hugh finally broke out of his despaired expression, letting Nate's words sink in. He wasn't the only victim; he was simply the first, after all. There were countless others; humans and Pokémon alike, who suffered from Plasma's acts just like him. The old Plasma was trying to seek forgiveness and repent for their acts, yet he denied that, selfishly believing that he was the only victim here. And as long as the new Team Plasma was still alive, then more would continue to suffer.

"...So more Pokémon would become sad...like Purrloin...?" Hugh asked.

"Yeah," Nate replied. "So fight to prevent that from happening."

Hugh stared at Nate for a moment, before his expression became more determined.

"Right," Hugh nodded as he got up. "...I'll get you back for punching me though."

"Hmph!" Nate smirked. "Just try it."

"As touching as this is," the triad member said, getting their attention. "You're still in the middle of a battle."

They turned to him, and saw Brav, Zoroark, and Keldeo flying towards them and crashing past them, while Cobalion stomped on Kid.

"Kid!" Nate cried.

"Heracross! Magby!" Hugh yelled.

The duo nodded and lunged for Cobalion, with Heracross ramming his horn into the goat, pushing him off Kid, while Magby shot a Flame Burst at the Steel-type, burning it. Magby then went over to help Kid up.

"-You alright?-" Magby asked as he helped him up.

"-Tch, I've been better,-" Kid grunted as he accepted the help and got back up, where Cobalion was looming over them.

"Sacred Sword."

Cobalion deployed his sword and brought it down upon the duo, who both stopped it together with their hands.

"Shit, Kid!" Nate yelled.

"Magby!" Hugh cried.

The two struggled to keep the sword from smashing them into the ground. As they pushed back though, they both began to glow brightly.

"What the–?!" Nate blurted.

"They're evolving!" Hugh gasped.

The two glowed brightly as they began to change shape, along with growing in size. Cobalion jumped back as the two continued evolving. Once the light ceased, in place of Kid was a slightly humanoid Pokémon covered in yellow fur with black stripes and a black lightning bolt stripe on his chest, while in place of Magby was a bipedal Pokémon with a red body that has yellow flame designs on it, with a puckered yellow beak and two lumps on its forehead with a flame on top of each one. Amazed, the two trainers took out their pokédex and scanned their respective Pokémon.

"Electabuzz, the electric Pokémon," Nate's pokédex read. "Research is progressing on storing lightning in Electabuzz so this energy can be used at any time."

"Magmar, the spitfire Pokémon," Hugh's pokédex read. "The scorching fire exhaled by Magmar forms heat waves around its body, making it hard to see the Pokémon clearly."

"Well, so they evolved," Nate mused. "Alright Kid, your new name's 'Buzz'!"

"-Really?-" Kid, now Buzz, asked. "-I evolve and the first thing you do is name me after a state of being drunk?-"

"Shaddup, it's better than calling you 'Kid'," Nate shot back as he scanned Buzz with the pokédex. "Alright...Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Low Kick...OOOH...this outta be good."

"...Impressive..." Hugh muttered, glancing at Magmar's improved move set. "Let's go, Magmar!"

"Even if you evolved, it matters not!" the triad member yelled as Cobalion stood his ground.

Cobalion was about to charge at them, but a stray Flamethrower courtesy of Zoroark shot out, stopping him in his tracks.

"Buzz, Thunderbolt!"

"Magmar, Flamethrower!"

Buzz produced strong currents of electricity and blasted them at Cobalion, while Magmar released his own flamethrower at Cobalion at the same time. The two attacks combined managed to nail Cobalion, forcing the goat on the defensive.

"What...?" the triad member asked, stunned that they're actually matching to Cobalion. "Damn it, Cobalion, Metal Burs–!"

"-RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!-"

Before Cobalion could move, Keldeo suddenly appeared above him and descended to the ground, slamming Cobalion on the head with a Sacred Sword. The force was strong enough for Cobalion to falter, as the mighty Steel-type fell to one knee.

* * *

Groaning in pain, the goat glanced up to Keldeo's glare.

"-How's that...?-" Keldeo asked cautiously.

"-...Ugh...K-Kel...deo...-" Cobalion grunted, his eyes now a calmer yellow.

"-Master–?!-" Keldeo gasped, realizing this.

But Cobalion's eyes quickly descended back to bright blue, as he began to snarl once more, pushing Keldeo away. Keldeo landed on his feet, glancing back at the snarling Cobalion. He was still in there. He could still save him! If that was the case, then perhaps he could save Terrakion and Virizon too...

"That's enough," the triad member declared, taking out the black and blue pokéball. "I will admit, you lot are much better than we anticipated."

Keldeo watched as the triad member recalled Cobalion into the peculiar pokéball with a hardened glare. It was definitely that weird pokéball that was causing Master to become aggressive and feral. If he could do something about that...

"We wasted enough time as it is," the one on the left spoke. "We need to leave now, Ein."

"I know, Zwei," the leader, 'Ein', grunted, before turning to the group below. "While we would love to spend more time here, unfortunately we can't. We have other business to take care of."

"You're just gonna run?!" Hugh growled.

"We'd like to call it 'tactical retreat'," Ein retorted.

"-Like hell you are!-" Keldeo roared as he shot a Hydro Pump at them.

The Hydro Pump bulleted for the Shadow Triad and blasting them, creating smoke from the impact. The smoke cleared, however, to reveal that they were unharmed, and protected by three muscular genie-like Pokémon, deploying a barrier around them. The one to the left was green with two horns on its head with wavy and billowy styled white hair, similar purple dots on its body, and a long purple tail, tipped with a whirl with whorled structures on it. The one to the right was blue with one horn on its head with zigzagging and jutting styled white hair and purple dots on its body, where its purple cable-like tail had several ball-like structures on it. And the one in front of them was orange with three pink horns on its head and a white protrusion shaped like a log on its head.

"Oh c'mon, that's just not fair," Nate deadpanned.

"Tornadus...Thundurus...and Landorus...?!" Hugh gasped, recognizing them.

"Remember this, brats!" Ein declared. "We Shadow Triad always accomplish our goals! All in the name of Lord Ghetsis!"

With a snap of their fingers, Tornadus and Thundurus eagerly shot a Hurricane and Thunder respectively, while Landorus sighed and released Earth Power. The combined force of their attacks decimated the field, engulfing everyone in the destruction and forcing them to guard. Once it ceased, they looked up to see that the Shadow Triad had disappeared.

* * *

"Great, so those ninja wannabes have the Three Swords _and_ the Forces of Nature?" Nate questioned.

"-Yeah, sorry about that,-" Zoroark muttered.

"Goddamn it..." Nate grumbled, before glancing to Brav. "Yo, Old Man! You alright?"

"-I've had better days, my boy,-" Brav replied weakly.

"Right," he replied, returning Brav to his pokéball, before glancing to Keldeo. "So, what're you gonna do now?"

"-...Follow them,-" Keldeo muttered. "-Master was still in there. I just need to find them and destroy those weird pokéballs that they were trapped in.-"

"Hm...True...I never saw any pokéball like that," Nate agreed. "It must have some kind of property that's controlling them..."

"-So if I can break them, then Masters will be free,-" Keldeo nodded.

"Hm, alright then," Nate said, before facing the colt. "So Keldeo, join my team."

"What?!" everyone around him gasped.

"-...You're serious?-" Keldeo asked.

"Oh I'm serious," Nate insisted. "You're going after Plasma. We're going after Plasma too. Our goals coincides. Wouldn't it be better to work together on this one? Besides, what other human could possibly pair up with you better than me?"

Keldeo narrowed his eyes at the boy suspiciously, but he had a point. Keldeo couldn't see himself working with any other human, and Nate did understand him the most.

"You're still pissed at Plasma?" Nate asked. "Good. Direct your anger at them. Don't waste it on anything else but them. You found a hint to how to free your family. Then direct your energy, your determination towards that goal. There's no use for needless rage. That goes for you too, Hugh."

Hugh perked up to him.

"You're not the only victim, so instead of mindlessly raging at anything that just happens to have the Plasma symbol on them, do everything in your power to prevent more victims from rising up," Nate said.

Hugh glanced down to the ground, before glancing back at Nate and nodding, a newfound determined expression on his face.

"-I can tell there's more to you than meets the eye,-" Keldeo said. "-Hell, you could be manipulating us for all we know. However, you understand my own anger, my own hatred. If anything, you're the only human that could possibly understand me. As such, you're the only human I would willingly follow.-"

"So that's a yes?" Nate asked.

"-For better or for worse,-" Keldeo nodded.

Smirking satisfactorily, Nate took out a spare pokéball and tossed it at Keldeo, who willingly let it hit him. The ball sucked Keldeo in with a red light and dropped to the ground, shaking three times before it flashed, signaling a successful capture. The boy then glanced at Zoroark.

"And what're you gonan do?" Nate asked.

"-You mind if I join your team as well?-" Zoroark asked, surprising Nate.

"Oh? What's with the sudden interest?"

"-After hearing what you said to the bluenette and the colt, I kinda realized something,-" Zoroark answered. "-I was always brooding over Mom and N leaving me behind, but then again, I'm not the only one who's ever been abandoned by family. Hell, there're people, Pokémon alike out there who went through much worse than me.-"

Zoroark looked at Nate straight in the face.

"-I don't want to needlessly brood anymore. I want to find them as well,-" Zoroark declared. "-I want to know why they felt the need to leave me behind.-"

Nate stared at him, before nodding. He took another pokéball out, before tossing it to Zoroark, as it repeated the process of a successful capture. Smirking, Nate went over and picked up both pokéballs, before releasing Keldeo and Zoroark out into the open.

"Alright then, from now on, you're 'Deo' and 'Zoro'," Nate declared. "You're stuck with me from now on, until something happens. Don't regret it."

Keldeo, now 'Deo', and Zoroark, now 'Zoro', both nodded in response.

"Yo, Nate," Hugh said.

"Huh? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Uh...th-thanks...for helping me out back there," Hugh muttered, his cheeks flushing red in embarrassment.

Nate stared at the boy, before lightly knocking his head with a fist.

"Idiot, 'course I would've done that," Nate grunted. "...You were in a funk, anyways..."

"Nate..." Hugh muttered.

"...Look, I'm not good at this whole morale support thing," Nate muttered. "But seeing you like that...made me want to do something about it...we're...f-f...friends...after all..."

"Friends?" Hugh asked, genuinely surprised that Nate would associate himself with that word, and even more so that he would consider him as a friend.

"I-I mean I never really had any human friends anyways, and you were the more tolerable out of the two..." Nate muttered, looking away in embarrassment. "And you and I are somewhat alike in a way...so...yeah..."

Hugh just stared at the boy, who glanced back.

"What...? You don't want to be my friend or something?" Nate mumbled.

"...I'm just surprised you would even consider friends," Hugh said, before smiling. "'Course I'll be your friend man. After all this, I've got your back."

The bluenette offered a hand, which Nate stared at surprised, before smiling himself and accepting the handshake.

* * *

The sun was starting to set, where Rosa and Yancy were still at the old Plasma safehouse.

"How much longer are they gonna take?" Rosa asked.

"I hope they're alright..." Yancy mumbled.

"Oh don't worry," Rosa assured the pinkette. "Those two won't go down so easily."

"You seem to have confidence in your friends," Rood said.

"They've been through a lot," Rosa replied. "It'll take a lot to knock them down a peg or two."

"Whoa, the hell's this?"

"Right, I broke that..."

The two girls perked up at the voices outside and rushed to the door. They opened it to see Nate and Hugh, looking like they've had better days.

"Nate!" Yancy squealed, hugging the brunette.

"Yo, sorry it took so long," Nate said tiredly. "Something tried to kill us."

"What happened out there?!" Rosa asked, worried as she saw the wounds they had.

Nate and Hugh walked in, followed by the creatures they never bothered to recall into their pokéballs.

"I-Is that...K-Keldeo...?" Rosa asked, noticing Deo. "And Kid and Magby evolved?"

"Oh yeah, I caught him," Nate offhandedly replied, making Rosa's jaw drop. "Oh yeah Zoro too. Hope you don't mind, but the pokéball did register."

"At least Zoroark is alright," Rood sighed in relief, before facing Zoro. "Are you okay with this?"

Zoro glanced at Rood and the other former Plasma members, before nodding in response.

"If this is your decision, then so be it," Rood said. "Now, let's tend to your wounds."

Rook, followed by all the other Plasma members rushed over to tend to their wounds.

"You two must've had quite a day," Yancy said as someone wrapped up Nate's arm.

"Yeah, pretty much," Nate said. "Oh that reminds me, might as well show you to the rest of the idiots."

Nate took out the rest of his pokéballs, releasing Luca and Nite, while Brav just flopped onto the ground.

"Right, someone tend to the elderly!" Nate called out, signaling someone to heal Brav. "Right, you lot, Kid evolved, so he's now 'Buzz'. Meet Deo, the Edgy My Little Ponyta, and Zoro, the former terrorist."

"-You want me to kill you?-" Deo glared at Nate, who was unfazed by the threat.

"-Wow, you evolved,-" Nite commented.

"-Yep,-" Buzz smirked. "-You're not the only one who an evolve!-"

"-Well I'm still better than you!-" the fire pig declared.

"-Bring it then,-" Buzz challenged.

"Alright, break it up," Nate said sternly, going in between Nite and Buzz. "We're here to cooperate. Not to try and kill each other."

"-Sorry...- " the two mumbled, before Nite noticed Deo.

"-Hey I remember you!-" Nite yelled as he pointed one of his hooves at Deo. "-You're that unicorn back at Floccesy or something!-"

"-And what of it?-" Deo growled, annoyed that Nite called him 'Unicorn'.

"-Oh I may have not been al ble to take you on before, but now I can totally take you on!-" Nite declared. "-Right, Boss?-"

"Yeah, sure, just don't kill each other," Nate said nonchalantly.

"-But still,-" Luca questioned. "-What made you decide to join us now?-"

"-I have my reasons,-" Deo answered. "-But it would seem that our goals overlap each other, so I decided to join him, seeing that we're both more or less after the same thing.-"

Luca glanced at the colt questioningly, but shrugged it off. If Nate was okay with this, then who was she to judge? She then turned to Zoro, who was just staring at her with wide eyes.

"-Uh, hello?-" Luca asked.

"-Beautiful...-" Zoro muttered.

"-What?-"

"-Huh? Oh, sorry,-" Zoro blurted, trying to compose himself and hiding the blush on his cheeks., much to her confusion.

"Oh?" Nate smirked deviously, catching onto the blush.

Meanwhile Hugh released his team to show them the evolved Magmar.

"-Well now, another evolution,-" Flygon commented. "-Looks like our group is becoming stronger and stronger.-"

Servine simply smiled, nodding in approval, while Tirtouga said nothing, seemingly examining Magmar.

"-? You got something to say?-" Heracross asked.

Tirtouga simply shrugged, much to the Hercules-beetle's irritation.

Rosa glanced back from the two teams as they conversed with one another. In the span of one afternoon, the two became so much stronger. And here she was, making no progress at all...

No! She shouldn't think that. She was strong. She was skilled. She was going to become the next champion after all. She would be able to reach their level in no time.

"Hey, can someone heal Magmar, while they're at it?" Hugh asked, surprising everyone.

The Plasma members began to look uneasy, all hesitant to step in. Hugh sighed; it was understandable, he did yell at them all angrily.

"I'm not gonna bite, if that's what you think," Hugh sighed, appearing much less angrier than before. "But Magmar needs medical attention."

The Plasma members glanced at one another, until Rook stepped up.

"Here, I'll do it," Rook offered, as he went over to Magmar and sprayed him with a potion.

"Y-You're not angry at them?" Rosa asked, surprised at how calm Hugh was right now.

"...While I still believe that what they did two years ago was unacceptable," Hugh replied. "I was wrong for not seeing that they were trying to make up for their actions and blindly labeled them as the same as the new Plasma...I let my own anger get the better of me..."

"Hugh..." Rosa mumbled, surprised by the change of character.

"Well, it is getting late," Rood offered. "You all can stay here for the night if you wish."

"Oh sweet!" Nate grinned.

"There are some available rooms upstairs," Rood said. "The boys can share a room, while the girls can share another one. We will prepare dinner."

"Right," Nate nodded. "C'mon Hugh, let's go crash, I'm tired."

"Right," Hugh nodded as he followed the brunette upstairs.

"We'll call you down when dinner's ready!" Yancy called out to them, receiving a 'Kay!' from Nate. "Heehee, he's pretty happy."

"Yeah, I guess something must've happened..." Rosa commented, noting how happier Nate looked.

They both looked a lot happier, she could tell. Something must've happened out there. Well they would reveal it all at dinner. As Rosa was about to move out to help around, she noticed something.

Did Nate just call Hugh by his name?

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN:** What? You didn't expect Nate to get an upgrade? Well too bad! The plot demands it! Regardless, this chapter was mostly character development on Hugh's part and some for Nate, and arguably Keldeo as well. Yancy also joined the group too (this is plot relevant). The Shadow Triad also make their first official appearance in this story, and are armed with some power. And Nate gets Keldeo and Zoroark, while Kid evolves into Electabuzz, while Hugh gets another one and has Magby evolve into Magmar. Yep, sounds about enough for one chapter.

And Nate is the first to get a full roster!

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Nite (Pignite) / Buzz (Electabuzz) / Brav (Braviary) / Deo (Keldeo) / Zoro (Zoroark)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Growlithe) / Mandi (Mandibuzz)

Hugh: Flygon / Servine / Magmar / Tirtouga / Heracross

Welp, that's about it. Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see ya next time. Hopefully sooner. And if you would like, I have a story for an XY novelization ( **Fidelity** ), and one I recently started for Platinum ( **Platinum Witch** ). Hopefully you'll check them out and like them and not leave them neglected like I do for like a month or so to work in another story.


	12. 12: Her Melancholy and Reality

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 12: Her Melancholy and Reality**

* * *

 **AN:** Well a lot of you wanted to see Rosa get her own chapter. Fortunately for you all, that was what was next on the agenda. Well at least the majority of this chapter is basically centered around her.

Visorshippers rejoice, I give you some hope. Which can be interpreted into pure sadism on my part since I'm basically dancing on both sides right now and not giving a clear answer yet. It's also very, very long and has a cameo that genwunners might like.

Alright, time for reviews since I don't have a lot of time right now:

 **Tony Anderson:** Thanks! Perhaps this chapter might be even more intense.

 **Defender31415:** Well, Plasma kinda did capture both the Swords and the genies back in Color of Your Soul. They just made the smart choice and not let go of them for the past two years. And Zoro and Luca? Idk we'll cross that bridge when it happens.

 **Knight of Wings:** Yeah a lot of shit happened last chapter. As for Yancy's newly expanded role in this story? Well you're gonna have to wait and see. And you're also gonna have to wait and see why Nate claims that his family abandoned him. And yes, I do plan to evolve electabuzz/magmar even further, it would only be natural, although personally I consider Magmortar a very powerful Fire-type tbh. And what will Hugh do now that he's no longer a blind vengeance-seeker? Who knows.

 **TheDarkMaster4000:** Oh yes, if you were here in Color of Your Soul, then you would know I gave Team Plasma many, many, many buffs, one of them including a heavily buffed Shadow Triad. And yeah, Nate's starting to open up a lot more, even considering Hugh a friend. Huh, now I can actually see how you can relate to Nate (I thought you actually figured out the entirety of his character), and that makes sense.

And yes, I know I need to spell-check these things. In my defense, I do. I always spell-check and grammar-check my stuff before I upload them. HOWEVER, I am not perfect. I will end up overlooking some flaws here and there, so it would be really helpful for all of you if you could point out any grammatical errors I made so that I can fix them. Doesn't help that the majority of the time I upload these chapters at like friggin 1 AM, and I am dead tired by then and probably not in the best state of mind and concentration. I would hire a beta, but, then again I'd rather work alone on my own schedule.

 **Anonymous Trainer:** Yeah, I found that part funny too.

 **I. M. Poik:** Yep, Nite is so innocent, and Yancy went AWOL, and considering how Nate is working for Kyurem, I'd figure he wouldn't consider trying to capture him and have an empty slot for one more member, in this case being Zoro.

 **Pale1357:** Well maybe, assuming shit hits the fan enough.

 **BreadNotDead:** Well welcome then! And thanks for finding the time to review! An interesting point you make, yes he can be compared to Lack-Two; although Nate's far more of a jackass. And I can see why you prefer Nate with Yancy over Rosa, given your reasoning (personal preferences aside). And aww, you flatter me. :)

 **kanrisha-san:** Oh, don't worry. Nate may look overpowered as of now, but there is always going to be someone above him. And you too? Man, I guess Nate and Lack-Two do have their similarities. Yeah, I can see the similarities in both of them, but arguably they both contrast each other more than they have similarities; one being a maniacal megalomaniac seeking a world purge, while the other being an undercover cop that seems to only care about the job above all. Arguably Nate is a lot more hot-headed and more cryptic, while Lack-Two is more level-headed and more secretive. And you want more Rosa? Here, have more Rosa.

 **ADUAN II:** Well thanks! Yeah, I like to try and take a different take in characters, especially the protagonists, who are essentially blank slates. And with Yancy added to the group, there will be some new interactions and changes, you can rest assured.

 **Zeffron aquille:** Okay I did not say 'don't make suggestions'. What I am saying is YES! ELABORATE. If you did, then none of this would happen in the first place. What? The reviews seem too small?

...Okay that is complete and utter bullshit, especially when the majority of the people who reviewed before you made reviews that are literally twice or triple the size of your review. And you ACTUALLY can't say the review option is too small, when Eris's chapter 9 review is sitting within the reviews, looking like a FUCKING MONOLITH compared to the others. You're actually just not trying hard enough.

If on the off hand you were trolling me this whole, and I just happened to not notice until now, then get the fuck out. I have little tolerance for trolls.

 **Guest (Mar 12):** Well, this chapter is like 80% Rosa-centric, if that counts.

 **Bob guest:** Well welcome aboard. It's kinda flattering that your buddy recommended my stories to you ^^' but I'm glad you like them and are enjoying them. Although for what Yancy wears on the bottom, I'd go with a blue skirt that matches her long sleeves, if that helps.

Alright, let's get started already.

* * *

Rosa glowered. She missed out on a lot yesterday.

As the group ate dinner last night, Nate had revealed that a faction of Team Plasma, known as the 'Shadow Triad', is on the move. To make matters worse, they're apparently armed with the Forces of Nature: Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus, and the Swords of Justice: Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion. When inquired about how the trio ended up obtaining such power, Rood revealed that Team Plasma had captured the Forces of Nature two years ago, manipulating Hilbert Warren, who had encountered them, to weaken them enough so that one of their own, Giallo, could capture them. Giallo then at some point handed them over to the Shadow Triad, whom used them to overwhelm the former Striaton City Gym Leaders, who had been nursing an injured Keldeo–no Deo, and used the injured colt to lure out Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion. The triad captured the Swords using a special kind of pokéball; presumably developed by Colress.

"The 'Plasma Ball', if I recall," Rood explained. "A unique pokéball based off the elusive 'Master Ball'; it has a guaranteed capture rate, and whatever is captured is then subjugated to hypnotic waves to the brain, controlling them against their will."

Once the mission was successful, the Triad had enlisted the legendary Pokémon into their parties, and used the Swords to fend off Hilbert and his group when they were at Team Plasma's castle during the Plasma Raid. To their shock, Nate was also a participant of the event, having tracked down Team Plasma. He wouldn't reveal his motives, but apparently revealed that he, along with Luca, Brav and Deo, were able to fend off the Triad long enough to allow Hilbert to heal from a devastating wound, and managed to slice off Ghetsis's arm. Before Nate could do any further, Colress had apparently intervened, along with his new project: "Genesect". Colress used said project to aid Ghetsis in escaping, while the Shadow Triad had disappeared, until now, when they attacked Nate and Hugh in Route 6.

Whatever their motives were hadn't been revealed, but fortunately they left midway; but not without demonstrating the power they possessed.

And apparently during that, Nate managed to snap Hugh out of his rage problems; allowing her childhood friend to be able to see things without being blinded by his seething rage. It was revealed that the Shadow Triad had been the ones to steal Hugh's little sister, Val's Purrloin five years ago, and it is now a liepard under their control. Hugh had lost all meaning to his journey and fell into despair shortly, until Nate managed to snap him out of it. She had to thank him for that. Hugh's obsession for hunting down Team Plasma wasn't good for his health. She wanted to do something about it, but he didn't listen to her. Hopefully Hugh can now find a new purpose for the journey, and have a clear mindset.

But at the same time, she felt a bit jealous. Jealous that Nate of all people managed to snap Hugh out of his blind anger problems when she had tried to for so long, but eventually gave up to the boy's stubbornness. She knew it was wrong of her to feel that, but she couldn't help it. They only knew him for a month at best, and Nate already showed better results than she had.

...Come to think of it, they never did learn about Nate's motives. Sure he agreed to travel with them to help with the pokédex (against his own will, due to the circumstances of their initial meeting), but he had implied that he had other goals. He knows their goals, but they don't know his. From what he implied throughout their journey, it must have something to do with Team Plasma, but to what extent, they don't know.

The boy was a walking enigma.

Which is why watching him as his newly obtained Keldeo go through the Driftveil Gym Leader Clay's team like a hot knife through butter was terrifying in its own right.

Currently they (Rosa and Hugh) went to go challenge the Driftveil City Gym, which happened to be located not too far from the Old Team Plasma's safehouse. The gym leader, Clay, was a somewhat portly man with a scowl on his face that meant business. 'Give and take' was his motto: as he agreed to their gym challenge on the condition that they helped him out with a project of his. Due to there being three of them versus only him, Clay decided that they did a three v one; akin to when they challenged Roxie; they each sent out one member against three of Clay's members in a one on one style match.

Hugh went first; where he tested out his newest member; Heracross. Against the part Dark-type Krookodile, the Heracles beetle proved to be able to handle the competition, having relative ease against the croc. Rosa expected no less of Hugh; the boy was a strong trainer after all; and having the type advantage, no matter what Professor Cheren had said, did help.

The second round went with Nate, who sent out Deo, against Clay's Seismitoad. The toad was surprisingly nimble and fast, being able to keep up with Deo's swift strikes and agile footwork, but the colt was able to quickly gain the offensive momentum; thanks to a combination of Nate's quick thinking and brutal strategies, and Deo's sheer ferocity. Backed by Nate's commands and strategizing, the colt brutally gained momentum and pressured the toad. It was honestly frightening to see Nate like this. Sure she said that she wanted to capture Deo, but honestly he fit Nate much more than with her. Those two were alike. They both had looks that could murder.

"Tch! Bulldoze!" Clay grunted.

Seismitoad jumped back and slammed his fist into the ground, causing it to shake. Deo managed to avoid it by releasing water from his hooves, allowing him to hover above the ground, therefore being unaffected by the Bulldoze.

"Now, Hydro Pump at his knees, then bring him down with Sacred Sword!" Nate yelled.

Deo snarled as he rushed at Seismitoad, shooting Hydro Pump at the knees. The attack managed to injure the toad's knees, forcing him to crouch in pain. Deo then slammed his sword down upon the toad's head, smashing him into the ground. Absolutely ruthless. The colt gave Seismitoad no window of opportunity to recover, as he mercilessly smashed his hoof onto his head, making sure that the toad was knocked out.

"Well, that was pretty violent," Clay sighed as he recalled Seismitoad, before giving the brunette a smirk. "Ya sure yer Hilbert's little bro? You're way more violent than he was when he challenged me."

"Meh, I get that a lot," Nate shrugged as Deo returned to his side. "Nice job, by the way, Deo."

"-Hmph, that was too easy,-" Deo scoffed.

"Curious, how was Hilbert when he fought you, compared to me?" Nate asked Clay.

"Hilbert? Hm...Well ta' be honest, yer a lot better than he was when he challenged me," Clay admitted. "He was hella reckless; same with his team members. They were obviously weaker than mine; yet the boy was so damn determined. His archen evolved during its fight against my excadrill and it won him the match though. He was backed into a corner, yet he somehow managed to power his way through."

"Hm...is that so..." Nate said.

"Hm...ya both are damn fun to fight," Clay admitted. "The boy with his determination and recklessness and ability to adapt quickly, versus you with yer brute strength and cunning, along with a legendary Pokémon to boot; ya both have yer own style of fightin'. And frankly they're both hella entertaining."

Nate studied Clay, before shrugging and recalling Deo and heading back to their side.

"Nice job, Nate," Yancy congratulated, walking up to Nate.

"Thanks," Nate replied, his expression softening slightly. "Eh, that was actually pretty easy. Then again, I was using Deo."

Rosa slightly scowled at the pinkette. That still got on her nerves somewhat. While she did get to know Yancy last night and decided that she was quite possibly one of the nicest and friendliest (and not to mention adorable) persons she ever met, she couldn't help but scowl whenever Yancy fawned over Nate like a love-struck cheerleader. Made even worse since Nate actually returned some of her affection with rare kindness; sure there was the usual teasing and trolling from the brunette, but compared to his treatment to herself, he treated Yancy with much more delicacy.

"You used a legendary against him," Hugh pointed out. "You would have the edge regardless."

"Hey I wanted to test him out," Nate defended. "It's not like I could send out Buzz or Nite in a Ground-type gym."

"You could've used Zoro."

"True...meh, I wanted to use Deo."

"Alrighty!" Clay yelled. "Who's left? While y'all scored two wins and'll get the badge, might as well let the last challenger get some action!"

"Sounds like your cue," Nate said to Rosa, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Right..." Rosa mumbled.

"Hm? What's wrong with you?" Nate asked. "Usually you'd be all giddy."

"S-Sorry, I have a lot on my mind right now," Rosa managed to respond.

"? Is that so," Nate mumbled. "Anyways, get out there already."

"Right," Rosa muttered as she headed to the battlefield.

"Good luck out there, Rosa," Yancy smiled, cheering her on.

"Th-Thanks..." Rosa said back, making sure to hide the scowl her eyes from the smiling pinkette.

"Well now missy, yer my last opponent," Clay smirked, taking out a pokéball. "Yer friends showed me quite the brawls. Let's see if yer capable of the same kind of quality."

Rosa glared at the gym leader as she released Ottavia. Now wasn't the time to dwell into melancholy. She needed to beat her battle. She could do this. If they could do it, then so can she. She is the future champion in the making after all.

She would prove to herself that she was just as strong as them.

* * *

"Oh? A dewott," Clay commented as he released a dark brown mole with diagonal red splotches with sharp metal claws.

Rosa leered at the mole. She recognized this Pokémon. It was an excadrill. One of Hilbert's Pokémon he used during his journey. A Ground/Steel type possessing great raw power and decent bulk thanks to its coveted Steel-typing. One of its signature tactics was setting up Sandstorm, so it could activate either Sand Rush, which doubles its speed to extreme amounts, or Sand Force, boosting its Ground, Steel and Rock-type moves to staggering levels. The most common ability seen on excadrills on a competitive level, however, was Sand Rush, due to its sharp increase in speed accompanied by Excadrill's already sky-high power.

"It's been a while since I've fought a dewott," Clay said as Excadrill sharpened his claws. "Last time was against Hilbert, if I reckon..."

"Razor Shell!"

Ottavia brandished her two blades and lunged at Excadrill, who quickly parried them with his own claws.

"...Straight to the point, eh?" Clay muttered, before snickering. "Alright then, lemme return the favor!"

Excadrill pushed Ottavia back and lunged his claw at her.

"Revenge!"

Ottavia parried the claw and smashed her blade into Excadrill's gut, causing the mole to recoil.

"Now Water Pulse!" Rosa yelled.

Ottavia jumped back and shot a Water Pulse at the recoiling Excadrill. The mole managed to recover in time to avoid it however. Excadrill then whiffed his claw upwards, sending dirt straight at Ottavia, forcing her to guard.

"Revenge, again!"

"Metal Claw!"

Ottavia tried to strike Excadrill down, but the mole saw it coming, and met her attack with his own claws, catching her paw between his claws. Excadrill then proceeded to slam Ottavia onto the ground harshly.

"-Agh!-" Ottavia grunted in pain as she bounced off the ground.

"Now, Bulldoze!" Clay yelled as Ottavia landed back onto the ground.

Ottavia tried to get back up, only for Excadrill to slam his claws onto the ground, causing the field to shake violently and making her lose her balance and hurting herself.

"Stop it with Water Pulse, quick!" Rosa cried frantically.

Ottavia tried to aim a Water Pulse at Excadrill, but the violently shaking ground kept her at bay, unable to shoot anything at the mole.

"Havin' trouble there lil' lady?" Clay sneered, causing her to glare at him.

Ottavia gritted her teeth as she got back up, and then hurled one of her shells at Excadrill. The shell hit Excadrill on the head, making him flinch and stopping his attack.

"Now, Razor Shell!"

Ottavia grabbed her other shell and lunged for Excadrill as the mole recovered, slashing him with her blue blade and sending the mole back to Clay.

"Oh, so ya got some game in ya, eh?" Clay asked as Excadrill got back up, the shell that Ottavia hurled at him in between his claws. "Alright then. This outta be more fun!"

Excadrill crushed the shell in between his claws into small pieces, as Ottavia brought her remaining blade up.

"Sandstorm!"

Excadrill swiped his claws onto the ground, unleashing a savage sandstorm to flood the arena.

"Oh no..." Rosa muttered, knowing what the gym leader was planning to do.

Ottavia glanced around frantically, trying to spot the mole in the sandstorm.

"Metal Claw!"

The mole shot out from the sandstorm like a bullet, slashing at Ottavia at a blistering speed before disappearing back into the sandstorm. Ottavia grunted in pain as she withstood the Metal Claw, only for another one to strike behind her, making her collapse to her knee.

"Ottavia!" Rosa cried.

"Hehe! What're ya gonna do now?" Clay asked smugly.

Rosa gritted her teeth as she could only watch as Ottavia endure the onslaught Excadrill was unleashing.

' _I have to do something...'_ Rosa thought. "Ottavia! Try to sense where Excadrill's going to strike next!"

"-R-Right...-" Ottavia mumbled, before kneeling to the ground, closing her eyes to concentrate.

The otter placed her hand on the ground, blocking out all sound but the raging sandstorm. Slowly, but surely, she could hear the earth shaking slightly, until the tremoring sound grew louder and louder. Ottavia quickly turned to where the sound was coming from and readied her Razor Shell. As Excadrill lunged out, Ottavia slammed her blade against the mole, causing it to go into a crash course into another side of the field, while the force of the collision caused Ottavia's remaining shell to break.

"Quickly, Water Pulse!" Rosa yelled frantically.

As Excadrill began to recover, Ottavia quickly shot a Water Pulse at him before the Ground-type could recover fully, blasting him with a powerful Water Pulse and blasting him into the wall. Excadrill slid off the wall, unconscious. Ottavia, panting, smiled, before collapsing herself.

* * *

"Man oh man..." Clay muttered, before grinning. "It feels good to go all out and still be defeated!"

Rosa rushed over to Ottavia, picking her up as Clay recalled Excadrill.

"Are you alright?" Rosa asked.

Ottavia grudgingly opened her eyes, giving Rosa a weak smile.

"-I-I'm alright...-" Ottavia groaned quietly.

Everyone else walked up to Rosa as she recalled Ottavia.

"You alright there?" Hugh asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rosa said.

"That was awesome though," Yancy said. "You really are strong, Rosa."

"Thanks," Rosa smiled, although it didn't reach her eyes.

Nate glowered at the bunhead slightly, noticing her somewhat fake smile. He was about to say something, until Clay walked up to them.

"Y'all really somethin'," Clay smirked. "Li'l whippersnapper trainers who pack a real punch keep showing up one after another. Y'all deserve this."

Clay took out three badges and three TM discs and tossed one to Nate, Hugh and Rosa, making sure they each got a badge and a TM.

"The Quake Badge," Clay said. "That's yer fifth badge, I reckon? If that's so, then there's three more ta' go. And the Tm contains Bulldoze. Think of it like a weaker Earthquake with the handy side effect of lowering the target's speed."

"Alright," Rosa muttered as they put the badges and discs away.

"Hm...Maybe...oh what the hell I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Clay muttered.

"What wouldn't hurt?" Yancy asked.

"Well you three are good enough, I suppose," Clay said.

With that, the man went over and pushed a button on a nearby podium, where the entire field was suddenly propelled upwards like an elevator until they ended up in the lobby.

"These gyms keep getting weirder and weirder I swear," Nate grumbled under his breath.

"Ya think so? I kinda like it," Clay grinned. "A lot more interestin' than last year's gym."

Everyone went out of the gym, where Clay stepped ahead and pointed out to a gate south of the city.

"Alright, go heal up yer Pokémon at the center and meet up with me at the south gate!" Clay commanded. "I got somethin' ta' show y'all, and I guarantee it'll be worthwhile!"

With that, Clay went on ahead, leaving the foursome to their own business.

"You think we should listen to him?" Hugh asked.

"Might as well," Nate shrugged. "C'mon."

Nate led the way, with the others following. Rosa, meanwhile, glanced down to Ottavia's pokéball.

"Oh yeah, Bunhead," Nate addressed Rosa. "Dunno if you know, but Ottavia's shells are gonna take at least a day to grow back like fingernails. So I suggest you bench her for the rest of the day"

"Ah...right..." Rosa mumbled.

"Hm? What's wrong with you?" Nate asked.

"What? Nothing, nothing's wrong," Rosa shot back.

"...If you say so," Nate replied skeptically, looking back ahead.

As Yancy and Hugh decided to chat up with Nate, Rosa glanced down to Ottavia's pokéball, a rather sour expression on her face.

She barely won.

Ottavia fainted soon after she defeated Excadrill. The only reason she was able to even beat that excadrill was because Ottavia was able to predict where it was going to strike. If she hadn't, then she would've been good as done for. The fight even cost her both her scalchops; making her unable to fight properly for the rest of the day until they grow back, essentially placing a handicap on her.

Nate and Hugh fared far better than she did; even if they didn't face presumably his strongest member, and they had far stronger Pokémon at their disposal during their fights; Nate especially.

...They were getting upgrades to their teams such as new evolutions and new members joining their parties; Nate already has a full team; and four of them were fully-evolved, with Nite and Kid–no, Buzz, not too far from evolving once more. Hugh wasn't too far away either; he was only one team member away from a full party, and Vibrava's already a Flygon. It was because of Flygon they even managed to beat Elesa back then.

She glanced back up as she watched Yancy talk to Nate with that same blush on her face yet again. And Hugh was acting more 'buddy-buddy' towards him too. Okay, Hugh being more friendly towards Nate wasn't bugging her too much, but for some reason Yancy taking his attention away from her did.

Wait, what? Never mind.

At this rate, she would fall behind...and not keep up and be left behind...

...No, she still won. That was what was important.

She was still strong. She wouldn't let Nate or Hugh or anyone one-up her.

She would prove it to them all.

* * *

After the group healed up their Pokémon, they headed to the south gate, where Clay was waiting for them there.

"Alright then, yer all here," Clay nodded, before he led them through the gate. "So, any of y'all heard of the 'Pokémon World Tournament'?"

"Ah, yes," Yancy replied. "A facility built last year in place of the Cold Storage, trainers from across the world come to compete against one another to see who is the strongest."

"That's right, young lass," Clay replied. "Trainers from across the world come to see who's the toughest."

The group were led by Clay out of the gate, where they were greeted to a large opening, full of several stands being attended do by many people. Clay then led them to the main attraction; a gigantic building with several flashing blue lights and several flags adorned on it.

"So what do ya think? Great building huh?" Clay asked. "Here's where the Pokémon World Tournament is being held. Ain't she purty?"

"Wow..." Hugh replied.

"This is...actually impressive..." Nate agreed; the strange building somewhat foreign to him.

"Follow me, tads!" Clay exclaimed as he headed in.

As the group followed Clay, Nate was a bit too busy glossing over the building to notice.

"Uh...excuse me..."

As he noticed the others leave and was about to follow them, someone tapped on his shoulder, stopping him dead is his tracks. A sharp dreadful feeling surged through Nate, making his eyes widen in alarm as he suddenly shot towards whoever was behind him, moving back slightly and hands on his knives, ready to be brandished.

The perpetrator was a tall, slim man, with pale black hair, wearing a red and white cap and sharp red eyes in a rather mellow, curious expression. He also wore a red sleeveless jacket with a white collar and stripe, black undershirt that was visible from the opening in his jacket, a yellow back pack, and baggy blue jeans with black, red and white running shoes that looked worn out. On his shoulder laid a peculiar yellow mouse with long ears and red cheeks, staring at Nate curiously.

"Uh...C-Can I help you...?" Nate asked cautiously. The pressure the man and his Pokémon was giving off was outright crushing him.

"Do you happen to know where I could get some cotton candy...?" the man asked somewhat quietly.

"C-Cotton candy...?" Nate asked skeptically, where the man nodded.

"I'm participating in a tournament later on, so I wanted to have some before I had to go participate," the man explained calmly. "But I can't seem to find a stand that sold any..."

"I-I see..." Nate muttered. "Sorry pal, but I just got here too. A friend showed me this place. I wouldn't really know where they sold food here."

"Oh, I see," the man said, somewhat downcast, but sported a small smile. "Thanks anyways."

"-Tch, damn it, he doesn't know where the cotton candy is,-" the mouse muttered.

Nate shifted his eyes to the mouse as he heard its response, which the man noticed.

"You can understand Pikachu?" the man asked.

' _Shit,'_ Nate thought to himself, realizing that he somehow let his ability potentially slip and be known. "Y-You could say that...I'm surprised you can tell."

"I know a person who has a similar ability," the man replied. "...Say, are you a trainer too?"

"...And what if I was...?" Nate asked cautiously, slowly reaching for Luca's pokéball.

"There you are!"

Oh great now what?

Both trainers looked to see another new figure. The man was around the red-cladded man's age, who had light skin, blue eyes, and light auburn spiky hair. The man wore a black leather jacket, a black belt around his waist, khaki pants and black shoes.

"Damn it, Red, finally found you," the new man groaned.

"Oh, hey Blue," the red-cladded man, 'Red', replied.

"'Oh, hey Blue', my ass!" the other man, 'Blue', shot back. "Seriously, I leave my sight off of you for a minute, and you already wander off on your own! You know how worried Yellow and Leaf are right now?! And more importantly, you know how ready they were to kick my ass for losing you?!"

"Sorry..." Red glumly replied.

"For Arceus' sake man...just at least tell us when you plan to disappear on your own," Blue grumbled. "You practically gave Yellow a heart attack. Lemme guess, cotton candy?"

Red nodded in response in some guilt, while Pikachu sneered at Blue, the auburn-haired man simply scoffing at the mouse's expression.

"C'mon, let's regroup with Leaf and Yellow, and _then_ we'll appease that bottomless glutton you call a stomach," Blue said sternly, grabbing Red by the collar and dragging him away, but not before noticing Nate. "Oh yeah, sorry 'bout him. He's kind of an airhead sometimes. Hope he didn't bother you too much."

"Uh-N-No, no, not at all," Nate insisted.

"Hey..." Red said before Blue could drag him off. "What's your name...?"

"Huh? Uh...N-Nate..." Nate reluctantly introduced himself.

"Nate, huh..." Red repeated the name to himself, before smiling. "My name's Red. If we ever do run into each other again, let's battle, alright?"

"S-Sure..." Nate muttered uncomfortably.

"Alright, let's go already," Blue grumbled, dragging Red off.

Once the two men were out of sight, Nate faltered slightly, before regaining his balance, shuddering extremely. The pressure they both gave off was unlike any other. It was a vehement pressure befitting of the likes of Kyurem.

"Who the fuck were they...?" Nate muttered.

"Nate~?" Yancy called out from the entrance.

Nate looked up to see the others waiting for him at the entrance. Shaking off the shudders, the boy raced up to them as they proceeded into the building.

"Are you alright?" Yancy asked concerned. "You look like you've seen a ghost..."

"What was taking you so long?" Hugh asked.

"Oh, it was nothing..." Nate muttered back. "Just...happened to see something...'interesting'...to say the least..."

* * *

Red glanced to Pikachu, who glanced back at him curiously.

"Hm...To think we'd run into someone other than Yellow who can understand you..." Red said as he scratched underneath Pikachu's mouth, causing him to squeal in delight.

"The hell're you talking about?" Blue asked.

"That boy, Nate..." Red replied. "...He's interesting...he was fully prepared to unleash his own Pokémon on me with one move...he even had a knife on him ready to use to attack me..."

Red stared blankly at Blue.

"...He was afraid of me," Red said. "That much I could tell."

"...Well considering your reputation and background," Blue responded. "Anyone would be intimidated by you."

"...However," Red said. "...He has potential. I want to fight him..."

Blue glanced to Red, noticing his red eyes. They were filled with a fiery, nostalgic determination.

"...Tch, battle-crazed moron," Blue muttered. "It's a wonder how Yellow can keep you in check sometimes. But still...to think a random trainer could get you this interested..."

Blue couldn't help but smirk.

"Wonder if he could prove to be as much of a challenge as the hero-wannabe Ethan."

* * *

The group entered the main building, where it was bustling with trainers of all kinds, with Pokémon of all kinds. Several trainers were lined up at counters, presumably registering for something.

"Wow..." Rosa said, awestruck at the sheer amount of potential participants. "You weren't kidding. That's a lot of trainers."

"Ain't it?" Clay asked. "Now, I want the three of ya to participate in the Driftveil Tournament."

"The three of you...?" Yancy asked.

"Dontcha worry, you don't have to participate," Clay assured Yancy. "You can act as the brunette's cheerleader. Pretty sure you'd like that."

Yancy's face heated up, while Nate leered at Clay, who wasn't fazed in the slightest and gave an amused grin in return.

"Anyways, it's a set tournament of 32 trainers. You can pick any member from yer teams, but there's gonna be a catch." Clay explained. "The first two rounds is a one v one, ya pick a member and beat the opposing side, and from quarterfinals it's gonna be a three v three. You can pick three from yer party, and you can change them throughout each round, but you can only use up to three."

"Seems reasonable enough," Hugh said.

"So this is why you wanted us here too."

The group turned to see some surprisingly familiar faces; namely Cheren, Bianca, Roxie, and Iris.

"The hell?" Nate asked. "What're you all doing here?"

"Apparently acting as guinea pigs for Clay's tournament," Cheren muttered bitterly. "I'm busy looking into something, you know!"

"Now, now, Cheren," Bianca insisted. "Clay needed our help, so we might as well reply in spades. Besides, you need a break from all the work too, y'know."

Cheren glared at Bianca, but sighed in defeat.

"Ugh, fine..." Cheren sighed.

"That's the spirit!" Clay laughed. "Although it's been a while since I've seen you two. Why, you two grown since the last time I've seen ya."

"Well, two years would do that," Bianca said sheepishly.

"Now if only he was here, then we'd be set..." Clay mused rather melancholically.

Cheren and Bianca looked down rather solemnly, while Nate glared at them menacingly.

"Professor Cheren!" Rosa and Hugh gasped, catching their attention.

"It's been a while though," Cheren replied, his expression lighter now. "I hope you've all been doing well with your expeditions."

"To a degree, yes..." Nate replied for them. "Curious though, you sure it's alright to be here? Last time I checked, you're the gym leader and a teacher at that academy."

"I had Professor Juniper convince the higher-ups to give Cheren a vacation," Bianca chimed in. "So it's alright!"

"Uh huh..." Nate mumbled, glancing at the two, before glancing to Roxie and Iris. "So what's your excuse? Dunno about Dragon-girl over there, but pretty sure you were in the same boat of responsibilities as Cowlick over there."

"You got Clay to thank for that," Roxie replied, eyeing Yancy critically as she talked to Nate. "He vouched for me to get a small break so that I could participate in his tournament. Apparently he wanted 'youths' to show the crowd the joys of Pokémon battling. Now then...you mind...?"

Roxie quickly grabbed Nate and then Yancy and moved away from the others, where no one can hear them.

"Alright 'Nancy'," Roxie said, arms crossed. "Spill the beans. What're you doing with Wild Boy over here?"

"U-Uh...w-well you see..." Yancy mumbled uneasily.

"Wait, what's the big deal?" Nate asked.

"...You know her secret, right?" Roxie asked.

"Yeah, why?" Nate asked.

"You've seen the news lately?" Roxie asked as she fiddled with her Xtransceiver.

"The news?"

Roxie brought up an article and showed it to Nate, letting the boy go through it, noting the bold title:

 **Rising Pop Idol Nancy went missing!**

"...Oh Yance~," Nate said, getting the pinkette's dread. "Care to explain this one?"

"W-Well I..." Yancy began to blubber, panicking internally.

"I also got a call from Curtis," Roxie added. "He's looking for you too. Your old man's pissed off too."

"...Well, you see..." Yancy had difficulty explaining herself.

"You ran away, didn't you?" Nate asked.

"U-Uh huh..." Yancy nodded in shame.

"And why...?" Roxie asked.

Yancy tried to say something, but couldn't find herself saying anything. She just lowered her head in shame, hiding her guilty expression underneath her hat. Nate glared at Yancy, before letting out a sigh, scratching the back of his head.

"Fine...if you don't want to spill it now, then fine," Nate groaned.

Both girls looked up to Nate in surprise.

"Really?" Yancy asked.

"You serious?" Roxie asked incredulously.

"Look at her, Punk Girl," Nate said. "She's a friggin trainwreck right now. Look I'm sure she has her reasons, and I'll make her explain, but for now, if she doesn't want to say anything, then why force her?"

"Nate..." Yancy said, touched that he was defending her.

"But..." Roxie tried to protest.

"Look, can you keep a secret?" Nate asked. "You're her friend too, right? Then do her a solid and keep this a secret from her old man and this Curtis guy. I promise I'll explain whatever I can get from her to you later."

Roxie had a conflicted expression on her face. She wanted to object; but seeing her best friend's pleading expression, and the boy's solemn one as he asked her for this; she couldn't help but sigh in defeat like Cheren and Nate just did.

"I'm gonna regret this one day..." Roxie grumbled. "But fine, your secret's safe with me."

As soon as she said that, Yancy went up and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Yancy squealed.

"Just...don't do anything stupid..." Roxie grumbled, although it was fairly soft.

"Of course..." Yancy replied.

Nate glanced at Yancy critically. He wondered what happened that one night that prompt her to leave so unexpectedly to the point of it making regional news.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hugh noticed Iris and walked up to her.

"Oh, hi Hugh! Long time no see!" Iris exclaimed happily.

"Didn't expect to see you here," Hugh commented.

"Yep, Old Man Clay over there asked me to participate in this tournament of his," Iris explained.

"Is that so..." Hugh muttered.

From what little they interacted, Iris had proven herself to be an extremely capable trainer; her haxorus was able to take on Colress's Metagross when they confronted him at Castelia Sewers, when the three of them combined barely managed to deal with Colress's Magnezone. She even gave him Tirtouga, meaning she was capable of finding rare Pokémon on her own.

Iris would prove to be a formidable foe.

"Say, how is that tirtouga doing anyways?" Iris decided to ask. "Oh and that cute Vibrava you had as well."

"Oh them?" Hugh asked as he released Tirtouga and Flygon in response.

Iris widened her eyes at Flygon, before glomping on the dragon.

"OH MY GOD! HE EVOLVED!" Iris squealed. "He looks so awesome! And I betcha he's SO much stronger now too!"

Flygon couldn't help but blush from the sudden glomp and praise, albeit a tad bit uncomfortable. The last memory he had of this girl was her suddenly tickling and fondling him. Once Iris was done glomping Flygon, Iris glanced down to Tirtouga, who glanced back at her.

"Hey there, lil' guy," Iris smiled. "How've you been doing?"

Tirtouga simply shrugged, giving off a lazy smile.

"He looks a lot happier than the last time I saw him," Iris nodded. "Looks like I was right in trusting him with you."

"Yeah, Tirtouga's been a great member," Hugh agreed. "He helped me beat Burgh."

"That's awesome!" Iris cheered.

Hugh couldn't help but smile at her cheerfulness. Between Rosa's over-arrogance and Nate's general cynicism and trolling at their expense, Iris was like a fresh breath of air to him.

* * *

"Hey Professor Cheren," Rosa got his attention, along with Bianca's. "Who Clay was referring to...is that...?"

"...Y'know you don't have to call me 'Professor' anymore, Rosa," Cheren replied calmly, making the girl fluster slightly. "And yes...Clay is referring to Hilbert."

Rosa looked surprised, while Bianca had a solemn look on her face.

"H-Have you heard anything from him...?" Rosa asked. Last time she recalled, Cheren caught Nate himself in hopes of getting any information about the whereabouts of Hilbert.

"No..." Cheren muttered. "Nothing..."

"I-I see..." Rosa mumbled.

"I'm sure Hilbert's fine though," Bianca tried to lighten the mood. "He's been through tougher. We just have to believe that he's alright."

"Right..." Cheren sighed. "By the way, how have you been doing?"

"Huh, well we've been doing fine," Rosa shrugged. "We got five badges, and our teams became a lot stronger..."

"Hm," Cheren mused as he glanced over to Nate. "He's certainly changed since the last time I saw them."

Rosa glanced over to Nate, who was seemingly arguing with Roxie while Yancy was acting as a mediator.

"He's acting a lot more open than compared to back in Aspertia," Cheren commented.

"...Yes, he has," Rosa muttered somewhat disdainfully.

Cheren noticed the sudden venom in her tone, but decided to not comment on it.

"Seems like you have your own problems, future champion," Cheren decided to tease.

"What?" Rosa asked, turning to her former professor.

"You seem to not approve of Nate's new openness," Cheren replied. "And since he's with a girl...do I perhaps sense some jealousy?"

"Wha-Jealous?" Rosa blurted.

"Haha, I'm just teasing," Cheren laughed.

Rosa glowered at the raven-haired teacher. It wasn't because his accusation was ridiculous. No, while she didn't want to admit it, she was jealous. Jealous of a lot of things, and almost all of them involved Nate. And that frustrated her.

"When's the tournament going to start?" Rosa muttered, wanting to change the subject.

"Well if ya wanna know so badly," Clay interjected. "It starts in 20 minutes, so y'all better register soon."

"Will you be participating in the tournament too, Clay?" Bianca asked.

"But of course!" Clay responded. "With this kind of quality participants, there's no way I won't participate and not join in on the fun!"

Which was everyone's cue to head to registrations and register for the tournament. As Rosa made her way to the registration, she bumped into someone else as they finished their registration.

"Oh, sorry," Rosa said.

"Sorry," the man murmured back in a rather muffled voice.

Rosa glanced back to the man who bumped into her as he left. Only a large black cloak was visible on him as he walked away.

"That's a weird outfit..." Rosa mumbled as she left to register for the tournament.

Once everyone finished registration, Clay led Nate, Hugh, Rosa, Yancy, Iris and Roxie to the back rooms, while leading Cheren, Bianca and Clay to another room. Several other trainers, most likely the other participants, were already waiting there as well.

"Hm...They look boring..." Nate muttered under his breath, until he spotted someone. "Wait a min–Colress?!"

True enough, they all turned to see the familiar blonde scientist of Team Plasma, sitting on a bench casually tapping away on his tablet. The man looked up, noticing the group.

"Oh, it's been a while," Colress greeted casually.

"Hey, I remember you!" Iris exclaimed. "You're that scientist guy back at the sewers!"

"Oh, hello there Miss," Colress greeted with a smile. "It certainly has been a while. Perhaps we can catch up and settle that match in this tournament, should things go right for both of us."

"Okay so what's the catch?" Nate asked as he crossed his arms.

"Please, I simply participated on my own free will," Colress replied back calmly. "A tournament of this caliber requires that I examine every possible trainer I can fight to help in my own research."

"You really are pretty lax considering who your boss is," Nate muttered.

"I mean it wouldn't help being a pessimist, now would it?" Colress shot back.

" _Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the 3_ _rd_ _Driftveil Tournament! The format shall be Single Battle 1 v 1! Let's have a look at the competitors for this tournament!"_

A giant screen appeared, displaying the tournament bracket.

"Geh, I'm first..." Nate muttered. "And...Oh my..."

"Wow, all three of us are in the same block," Hugh muttered.

Rosa kept her lips shut tight, making sure to hide her gritting teeth. Her first opponent was against some guy named Miles Riches; and right after Nate's match. Meanwhile, Hugh was in the last match of their block, meaning that either she or Nate would end up having to fight him at the quarters. And only one of them would make it to the semi-finals.

Meanwhile in another block next to theirs, Roxie and Colress were there, meaning that one of them would have a rematch against either of them for semis. Great, two opponents she never ended up winning against. Oh well, she would be able to get a revenge match. On the other side of the bracket was everyone else. Although she was curious to see how Bianca would fight, and how Cheren would fight with no restrictions of being a gym leader. They were both veterans from the Plasma Raid who fought alongside Hilbert, after all.

" _Alright, will both competitors for the first match step up to the arena?"_

"And there's my cue," Nate muttered as he got up. "One v one, right? Alright..."

"Ah, good luck Nate!" Yancy said before he left.

Nate lifted a thumbs up in response as he left the backroom. The screen changed to the main arena, as both competitors stepped onto the field.

" _And now! Without a further ado! Let the Driftveil Tournament begin!"_

* * *

From the other backroom, the other participants were watching the first match, as Nite slammed into the opposing simisage, causing the monkey to stagger back.

" _Tch! Simisage, Rock Tomb!"_

" _Too slow!"_

Simisage tried to pelt Nite with rocks, but Nite easily maneuvered over them, and proceeded to circle around Simisage, creating a ring of fire around it.

" _Heat Crash!"_

As Simisage tried to find a way out of the ring of fire surrounding it, Nite jumped above Simisage and crashed into the monkey in a ball of fire, crushing the monkey into the ground.

" _AAAAND IT'S DOWN!"_ the announcer yelled. _"A devastating Heat Crash took out Biker Dillon's Simisage, which means our first winner is Trainer Nate! What a spectacular way to start off this tournament!"_

Nite jumped back in front of Nate and waved to the cheering crowd, while Nate simply tucked his visor in.

"Wow Nate did great!" Bianca complimented as Nate recalled Nite and left the arena.

"Yeah, he's improved since the last time we fought," Cheren agreed.

"Figures them younglings would go off with a bang," Clay smirked. "I knew bringing them here was a good idea."

" _And with Round 1 finished, let's move onto Round 2! Will Rosa Echoes and Miles Riches please enter the arena?"_

"Hm, looks like it's my turn."

Everyone glanced to see a boy in a rather dashing white suit with curled suave brown hair leaning against the wall, grinning rather smugly.

"And I presume you're Miles Riches?" Cheren asked.

"But of course," the boy, Miles, replied smugly. "It's time to show these plebeians the might that is I, Miles of the Riches Family."

"How bold of you," Cheren rolled his eyes. "Although I suggest you do not underestimate your opponent."

"Oh? Do we have a soft spot for this Rosa?" Miles asked, that smug grin still on his face.

"...It's a basic notion as a trainer to never underestimate their opponent," Cheren shot back.

"...Very well then," Miles shrugged, before he made his leave. "I'll show you all why I will win this tournament."

As Miles left, he noticed another man, leaning against a wall away from everyone else, covered on a black cloak with his arms crossed against his chest, with a black mask obscured his entire face.

"And who are you?" Miles asked.

The man simply looked up, one sharp red eye visible from the right triangular eye hole of the mask boring itself into Miles, unnerving him slightly.

"Hmph, freak..." Miles huffed as he left.

The man in black stared at the door as Miles left, before he lowered his head, resuming his original position.

"Yeah...I hope Rosa wins," Bianca said. "That guy got on my nerves real quick..."

Cheren leered at the door, before glancing towards the man in black.

"Curious, who are you, anyways?" Cheren decided to ask.

The man in black looked up, both red eyes glancing at Cheren, before he pointed to the tournament bracket displaying on the screen, pointing to the top right match block.

"...'Schwartzer'?" Cheren asked. "...That's a strange name..."

The man, 'Schwartzer', simply shrugged.

"...I do hope he didn't offend you," Cheren said.

Schwartzer simply waved his hand, gesturing that he felt no offense.

"There are arrogant trainers such as him," Schwartzer replied in a rather gruff voice, most likely muffled by the mask he was wearing. "You shouldn't pay too much attention to the likes of them. Such arrogance will only lead to self-destruction."

Cheren stared at Schwartzer. The man was right; too much arrogance was never good. It would cloud ones decision. However, that could be said about both trainers that were about to fight.

* * *

"You're up," Nate said to Rosa as he returned to the room.

"Good job, Nate," Yancy said as she went up to him.

"Yeah. That looked pretty easy," Hugh commented.

"Meh, I had the type advantage," Nate shrugged. "He wasn't that good anyways."

Rosa nodded as she got ready to go.

"C'mon, loosen up," Nate said, noticing how Rosa looked tense. "You got this."

Rosa glanced at Nate, somewhat bewildered, before returning it with a smile.

"Thanks," she said quietly, before leaving.

Nate leered as Rosa left the room.

"...Something's not right..." he muttered.

* * *

Rosa sighed as she stepped up to the arena, the announcer booming an introduction about her. She was nervous. This was something foreign to her. Normally she would (and should) be ecstatic about this. Being able to perform in battle with an audience this big meant that she would be able to show them all her skills that would let her become the future champion of them all. But now that she thought about it, should she lose and fail here, then everyone would see her burn and fall.

Made even worse since Nate was outright flawless in his battle prior to hers. The expectations were high, and it was a tough act to follow.

...No, she needed to focus. Rosa slapped her cheeks, making herself focus. She could do this. She wasn't some weak trainer after all. She just needed to use her strongest member, in this case, Eve, and get through this round. She made it this far, so she could definitely get past the first rounds. And then, she would be able to fight Nate.

She looked up to see her opponent step up to the arena. An admittedly good-looking 'rich boy' class trainer, if his name was anything to go by, the man was seemingly examining her, before he sported a rather smug grin.

"Well then, pretty lady," the man, Miles, if she recalled, said with a suave tone. "I'll try not to hurt your Pokémon too badly."

Rosa glared at Miles. Oh she SO didn't want to lose to someone like him.

" _Alright then, remember, only one Pokémon in this one v one,"_ the announcer said. _"And let the second round BEGIN!"_

Rosa and Miles both released their Pokémon at the same time. Eve appeared in front of Rosa, while a large, gray elephant-like Pokémon with a thick, black band of hide running down the length of its back and extending to the tip of its long trunk, resembling a car tire, landed onto the field.

"A donphan..." Rosa muttered. This is going to be tough.

"Ladies first," Miles said haughtily.

"Alright then," Rosa growled. "Eve, Hyper Voice!"

Eager to start the battle, Eve let out a violent scream, blasting the sound waves at Donphan. However, the elephant didn't budge, seemingly unfazed by the attack.

"-Wh-what...?-" Eve gasped slightly, shocked that the donphan took it rather well.

"You call that an attack?" Miles asked tauntingly. "No no no, _this_ is an attack. Rollout!"

Donphan curled up into a tire-like ball and proceeded to charge at Eve at a blistering speed. Eve barely dodged the oncoming ball as Donphan continued to roll out throughout the field, relentlessly pursuing Eve.

"Eve, Shadow Ball!" Rosa yelled quickly. "Aim for where it's about to head!"

Eve nodded and shot a Shadow Ball right in front of where Donphan was about to go, stopping Donphan in its tracks and stopping its Rollout.

"There's no way I can let Eve challenge this thing with Take Down..." Rosa muttered. "And Hyper Voice did shit all...I doubt Shadow Ball would do any better..."

"Hm, that was quite clever," Miles mused. "Donphan, Ice Shard!"

Donphan created several shards of ice in front of it and shot them at Eve, who was forced to defend herself since she couldn't avoid it.

" _And Donphan is taking the offensive! Eevee can't move at all, being forced to endure the punishment the Ground-type is unleashing!"_

"Great, I can't do anything about this?!" Rosa hissed. "...Dig!"

Eve nodded as she ducked underneath another Ice Shard and burrowed underground. However, Miles merely grinned.

"Such an amateur mistake," Miles shook his head. "Do you really think using 'Dig' against a Ground-type is a good idea?"

"What...?" Rosa asked, before she realized what he meant. "Oh no–!"

"Donphan, Earthquake!"

Donphan grinned as it smashed its feet into the ground, causing a massive earthquake to erupt the arena, and blast Eve out of the ground.

"-AAAAAAAAAAH!-" Eve screamed in pain as she was forcibly ejected from the ground with faulting plates of the arena.

"EVE!" Rosa cried.

Eve fell to the ground, groaning in pain as she tried to get back up.

"Finish this with Seed Bomb," Miles commanded.

As Eve got back up, Donphan relentlessly shot several hard seeds from its mouth, pelting Eve with exploding seeds. Once the smoke cleared, Eve was lying on the floor, completely unconscious.

" _AAND WE HAVE IT! After a one-sided battle, the winner of the second match is Miles Riches!"_

"Hmph, as expected," Miles smirked as he recalled Donphan.

As Miles left the arena, Rosa didn't even respond, her head lowering in shock.

"I-I...lost..." Rosa muttered.

She stared at Eve's battered figure, before eventually recalling her and returning to the backroom, head hung in shock.

* * *

Cheren just stared at the screen in shock. He didn't expect Rosa to lose that badly. Sure he knew she wasn't the greatest, but he would've expected her to put up a better fight, hell even win to some extent. He also didn't expect Miles to be fairly competent too.

"Wow...that guy was actually pretty good..." Bianca didn't want to admit, but did anyways. "Poor Rosa..."

"Hmph, it was obvious I was going to win anyways."

They all turned to see that Miles returned from the arena, a smug grin plastered on his face.

"That trainer was an amateur," Miles scoffed. "Of course I would wipe the floor with her."

"You don't have to say it like that," Bianca shot back.

"Heh, I'm just stating facts," Miles said. "That trainer was weak. Thinking an eevee could take on my Donphan."

"You both released one Pokémon at the same time," Cheren argued. "There was no way for her to have known any better."

"She's still stupid for thinking an eevee would be any useful," Miles casually scoffed.

Miles simply sighed as he took a seat on an open bench, crossing a leg over the other one.

"That was simply a warm up," Miles declared. "I'll show you all why I will win this tournament, and why you are all weak trainers compared to me."

That earned him the glares of everyone in the room, although Miles didn't seem to be too fazed by it. Well, all, except for Schwartzer, who was ignoring the rich boy, and instead focusing on the screen.

* * *

Rosa returned to her side's backroom, completely defeated. Her friends all gathered around her as she opened the door.

"Rosa!" Hugh exclaimed.

"Oh...hey..." Rosa mumbled.

"A-Are you alright?" Yancy asked.

"...Yeah...or at least I'd like to say that..." Rosa muttered, as she headed out the other door. "I'm...going to go heal Eve..."

She didn't even look at anyone as she left the room, leaving them worried.

"Man, she looks real down..." Iris commented.

"Well, she did lose," Roxie said. "And to a bigot like that guy."

Nate glanced to the direction Rosa left, staying quiet for a moment.

"Well, we better go comfort her," Hugh said. "At this rate, she's going to need the moral support."

"...Is this the first time she lost?" Nate asked Hugh all of a sudden.

"Huh?" Hugh asked, before he thought about it. "Well there was the time when she tied with Roxie–."

"I mean is this the first time she legitimately lost?" Nate asked. "No draws, no close calls. Is this the first time she lost like this?"

Hugh's eyes widened slightly, before registering what he meant.

"...Yeah..." Hugh confirmed.

Nate narrowed her eyes at the door, before proceeding to sigh, grumbling something under his breath.

"I'll deal with her," Nate said.

"You sure?" Hugh asked.

"You have a match to go to," Nate said, pointing to the screen. It showed that Hugh was up next. "I'll deal with her. You focus on your own shit."

"R-Right," Hugh nodded as he got ready to leave. "Just...don't be too harsh on her..."

"Yeah, yeah, I won't," Nate muttered, shooing him off. "Now off you go now."

Hugh nodded as he left the room and headed to the arena.

"Are you gonna be alright?" Yancy asked.

"What? You think I can't act as a guidance counselor to arrogant girls who just lost badly?" Nate asked. "I think I did a pretty good job counseling you if it motivated you enough to run away like that."

"I–I didn't mean it like that!" Yancy yelled back.

"I know, I know," Nate chuckled, patting Yancy on the head as he headed out. "Don't worry, I got this..."

* * *

Rosa huddled against the wall in a secluded hallway, away from any people. She didn't want anyone to see her like this.

She looked pathetic, and she knew it. She just lost, and here she was, huddled away from anyone, even her friends, and crying like a baby. But she couldn't help it. She never lost this horribly before.

She lost. She lost horribly. Eve stood no chance against that donphan. Hyper Voice and Shadow Ball did nothing. There was no way Eve could beat a donphan in a test of strength. And Dig was shut down and countered by Earthquake.

She lost badly. Even the announcer called it a one-sided battle. And everyone in that arena saw it. Everyone in the back saw it. Everyone watching the battle saw it. Everyone saw how poorly she did and how badly she lost.

Come to think about it, she was always the worst out of the three of them. Hugh was always naturally skilled like her, but he utilized type advantaging and strategized better than she did, and Nate was on a completely different level from either of them. While she did capture Mandi, Hugh captured Heracross and even got Tirtouga, Servine shined much more than many of her Pokémon, and even Vibrava evolved into Flygon and Magby evolved into Magmar. If it wasn't for that, then she wouldn't have been able to win against Elesa. He was only one member away from a full party.

And then there was Nate. He already proved to be on par with the veteran trainers such as Cheren, already had access to vehemently strong Pokémon like Luca and Brav, Nite and Kid–Buzz were pulling their weight just like them. And then in one day he obtained a mythical Pokémon in Keldeo, and another powerful Pokémon in Zoroark, making that a full team at his disposal. And he won his first match. Rather easily, at that. And that's not counting all his other abilities such as his inhumane strength and ability to speak to Pokémon.

But Rosa? She had the least amount of party members. Her 'strongest' member was an eevee. Her fully-evolved member was thanks to Nate showing it to her for her to catch. She only had Ottavia and Nina; one who couldn't even fight for the day because she barely won against an excadrill and lost her main weapons, and Nina being a mere growlithe. She was the only one out of them to end up pulling a draw in one of the gym matches. She was the one who struggled the most. She was arguably the weakest out of them. And despite that, she proclaimed that she would become the future champion and become a trainer as great as Hilbert.

"Heh, 'future champion'," Rosa cackled out of depression. "More like 'future loser'..."

Rosa sighed as she resumed her position, sulking to herself. From her pokéball, Eve emerged by herself, having been healed up, and looked up to Rosa with a sympathetic look in her eyes.

"-Rosa?-" Eve asked, before she went up to her and nuzzled her cheek affectionately.

"Thanks Eve," Rosa smiled weakly at Eve's attempt to make her feel better. "...I let you down though...you must think I'm a horrible trainer...I'm so sorry..."

"There you are."

Rosa looked up. It was Nate. The boy was glancing down upon her with his usual lazy scowl. Rosa stared at him for a moment, before sulking back down.

"I'd hardly think Eve would consider you a bad trainer if she would go and learn 'Charm' by herself just to cheer you up," Nate shrugged.

"What do you want? Come to mock me or something?" Rosa asked.

"Hmph, looks like your ego couldn't handle the loss," Nate shot back. "I thought you were better than this; sulking by yourself in a dark corner like a baby."

"Oh please," Rosa scoffed. "You didn't lose that badly. You aren't the one falling behind. You aren't the one with a weak team. You won your match. You have the stronger team. Me? I humiliated myself out there. I let Eve get beaten badly. I'm claiming that I'm going to become the future champion, and here I am losing my first tournament match."

Rosa sulked down, hiding her face under her visor.

"I'm a failure..." she murmured.

Nate leered at her, before sighing and sitting next to her.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Nate asked.

"Oh so you are going to mock me..." Rosa muttered.

"Let me speak, girl," Nate growled, flicking Rosa on the forehead.

"Ow..." Rosa yelped.

"Look, you aren't as bad as you're saying you are," Nate said. "You literally went through Unova so far, challenging the gym leaders in Challenge Mode; shit normal sane starting trainers wouldn't do. And you managed to get your badge through all of them."

"But I only won because you and Hugh were helping me," Rosa muttered. "I wouldn't have been able to win by myself."

"At the very least you're hella lot better than average trainers," Nate insisted.

"Hmph..." Rosa grunted, still not convinced.

Nate glared at the girl, before groaning.

"Look, I'm going to be blunt with you," Nate said. "I found you annoying when we first met."

"What?" Rosa asked, perking up a bit.

"Yeah," Nate said. "You were arrogant, boastful, somewhat loud and proud, you kept denying that I was Hilbert's little brother, you kept yapping about how you were going to become the new champion, etc...Basically you annoyed me a lot."

"Gee, thanks," Rosa muttered sarcastically.

"However," Nate interjected. "As we traveled through Unova this past month or so, my opinion about you...kinda changed."

"What?" Rosa asked.

"While you were still an egotistical little girl," Nate admitted. "You never gave up. You were always determined about your ambitions and goals. While they were naïve and self-centered, you still cared about those around you enough to lend a hand. And...I can't deny the effort you put into it, and it's admirable...your determination, your ambitions..."

"R-Really...?" Rosa asked.

"And who ever said losing was a bad thing?" Nate added. "Sure yeah you lose, but you learn from losing; you learn from your mistakes and improve yourself so you don't repeat them. In fact, constantly winning means you won't be able to learn, and eventually you will lose. So losing is a part of life we all need; you too. If you feel so bad about losing, then try again with what you learned from losing and prove them all wrong."

"N-Nate..." Rosa mumbled, touched that Nate would say that about her.

"Oh, what's this?"

Nate and Rosa looked up to see Miles, looking down on them rather condescendingly.

"M-Miles..." Rosa muttered.

"Oh, you comforting your girlfriend?" Miles asked Nate rather mockingly.

"Girlfriend?" Nate asked in a rather disbelieving manner. "Please, she's just a friend I have to comfort since you beat her badly."

Rosa leered at Nate slightly.

"Hmm..." Miles said as he glanced to Rosa. "...Y'know, on closer look, you're a pretty little thing, aren't you...nice ratio...impressive bust...easy on the eyes..."

"W-What...?" Rosa blurted.

"Y'know, I could always teach you how to be a better trainer," Miles offered, putting up a seductive tone as he cupped Rosa's chin. "Just you and me...How's about it, Miss Echoes?"

"Wha–?!" Rosa blurted.

Before Miles could do anything else, Nate grabbed Miles' hand and pried it off of her.

"Okay there buddy, pretty sure there's something called 'personal space'," Nate interjected.

"Nate...?" Rosa mumbled.

"What? I thought she was just your friend," Miles said. "Then there should be no problems if I ask her out."

"Yeah, because asking the girl you just beat the crap out of is always the best idea," Nate drawled sarcastically. "Especially if they're sulking about it."

"Oh please," Miles scoffed. "Does it really matter what the method is? As long as the goal is achieved, then we shouldn't see a problem. Now then..."

Miles approached Rosa, as she stepped back into the wall.

"I have the money, the resources, and the means to make you the best trainer ever," Miles offered. "Possibly even better than me. I'll give you the strength you want, and all the pleasure you could possibly imagine and more. All you have to do is become my girlfriend. A fair trade, isn't it? Being the girlfriend of someone as handsome and powerful as I?"

"Why you–!" Rosa snarled, outright offended.

But before Rosa could slap him, Nate already struck the back of his hand against Miles' nose.

"Agh!?" Miles yelped, backing off in pain as he held his nose. "You little...!"

"Wow you really are something," Nate muttered. "You have no respect towards her as a human being, do you? Doing all that just cuz you want to get in her pants. Keh, you're pretty grimy."

"Why you–! I'm Miles Riches!" Miles growled. "I'm the best trainer you'll ever get the honor of knowing!"

"Well since you're not Hilbert Warren, then that's a load of crap, you egotistical little prick," Nate rolled his eyes.

"Oh, Hilbert Warren? _That_ loser?" Miles scoffed. "Hah! He hasn't shown up in two years! He abandoned his home country doing whatever it is deserters like him do. He's no hero at all. He's just a fraud! I'M the best trainer there is!"

"...Oh really...?" Nate all but growled, his tone now filled with malice and anger. "The first match in the second rounds are between us, if I recall. Let's settle it there then. Surely if you're the 'best trainer', then you wouldn't have any problems, now would you?"

"Hmph! Fair enough," Miles held his head up high. "But if I win, I'll be taking Miss Echoes over there."

"Wha–I'm not property!" Rosa yelled.

"Please, Miss Echoes," Miles had the gall to wink at her. "You'll be loving every moment of our time together."

"And if I win, then you get the fuck out," Nate said. "Crawl back to whatever hole gave birth to you and never show your face in front of me or her ever again."

"That's if you do win, which is unlikely," Miles smirked. "I saw your first match. Decent, but you had the type advantage. You're nothing but a rookie with good enough luck. It'll be a piece of cake."

With that, Miles made his leave, still nursing his injured nose, leaving Nate and Rosa to themselves. Once Miles was out of earshot, Nate growled in anger as he smashed his fist into the wall, leaving a visible crack in it.

"That little piece of shit!" Nate growled. "HE'S better than _Brother_?! Hah! That fucking arrogant womanizing silver-tongue bigot! He couldn't even compare to Brother's piss!"

"Nate, calm down!" Rosa yelled, grabbing his arm and shaking it.

Nate shot a glare at Rosa, and then took a deep breath.

"Yeah...sorry 'bout that," Nate muttered.

" _AAAAND with that, the first rounds are OVER!"_ the announcer's voice boomed throughout the hallways. _"We will begin the second rounds shortly!"_

"Wait, they're over already?!" Nate blurted. "Jesus Christ how long were we here for!? Alright let's get out of here..."

"Ah, wait!" Rosa said, still holding Nate's arm.

"Eh?" Nate asked.

"Well...uh...th-thanks...for defending me back there..." Rosa mumbled.

Nate stared at Rosa's slightly embarrassed expression, before shrugging.

"Heh, don't worry about it," Nate shrugged. "That little faggot was pissing me off too...well at least you're feeling better...somewhat..."

With that, the two headed back to their backroom, with Rosa still holding his arm. She stared at Nate's back, blushing slightly.

* * *

"And we're back!" Nate announced as he kicked down the door.

"Nate!" Yancy exclaimed happily. "You're back!"

"Finally!" Hugh yelled. "Where were you two?!"

"Emotional crap happened, sorry, whatever," Nate muttered as he dragged Rosa back in. "She's feeling better at least. Is the match about to start?"

"You got five minutes," Iris informed him.

"Alright then," Nate nodded, before looking up to the bracket, ignoring the normal trainers and scanning for any notable matches. "What the hell does second round even look like?"

 _Nate vs Miles Riches_

 _Hugh Matis vs Hiker Willy_

 _Roxie Vomica vs Colress_

 _Schwartzer vs Iris Lilia_

 _Bianca Belle vs Ace Trainer Ryan_

 _Cheren Heilian vs Clay Yacón_

"Holy shit I missed a lot," Nate muttered. "Well at least everyone I know made it...and who the fuck is 'Schwartzer' and who names their child that?"

"A rather mysterious trainer cladded in pure black," Colress answered.

"...Are you being racist?" Nate asked.

"I mean his clothing is literally the color black," Colress shook his head in annoyance. "He's the trainer of gossip at the moment, finishing his battle against his opponent's skarmory with a shiny haxorus, in under five seconds with one Dual Chop."

"...What kind of piss poor skarmory was that?" Nate asked.

"That's the thing," Colress replied. "The skarmory was actually quite potent. His haxorus was just monstrously powerful; or at least had monstrous strength. Oh by the way, your match is about to start."

"Shit," Nate muttered. "Alright, I'm off. Rosa, you better watch this, this kinda involves you too, y'know."

Rosa nodded meekly as Nate headed out of the room, while eyes were on her.

"What does he mean by that...?" Hugh asked.

"...Miles wanted me to be his girlfriend..." Rosa murmured. "And they bet on it in this match."

"WHAT?!" Hugh gasped. "The hell is Nate thinking!? Okay first off, what the hell is this Miles asshole thinking, assuming he can just make you his girlfriend like that, and second, what the hell is Nate thinking betting on that?!"

"Hugh!" Rosa yelled. "Just...please...trust him on this...Nate knows what he's doing..."

Hugh looked at Rosa somewhat doubtingly, but conceded.

"I hope you're right..." Hugh sighed as they all turned to the screen.

' _Nate...'_ Rosa thought as she saw him walk in the arena.

* * *

"And here we are..." Nate glowered at Miles as he stepped up to his side.

"Indeed," Miles replied. "You sure you don't want to back out? You should at least save your Pokémon from the humiliation I'm about to unleash on them."

"I could say the same thing to you," Nate smirked, making Miles grit his teeth slightly.

"Hmph, fine, once I'm done with you, I'll win this tournament, and leave with two prizes," Miles declared. "The prize this tournament will give me, and my soon-to-be new and undoubtedly _delectable_ lover."

"Y'know the saying 'don't count your torchics before they hatch'?" Nate asked out loud. "You might wanna look into that, ya fucking creep."

"Hmph, say what you will, you'll still just an obstacle in my way," Miles scoffed. "Now then, let's get on with it. I'll show you why I'm the best trainer out there, and not that foolish twat Hilbert, and why Miss Echoes will be mine to use as I please."

Nate's malicious glare in his eyes suddenly turned blank. Something snapped inside him.

"How full of yourself are you...?" Nate muttered as he released Luca.

" _What's this?! I didn't even commence the match and already Nate has released his Pokémon!"_ the announcer gasped. _"And a shiny lucario at that!"_

"-Wha–? Nate?-" Luca asked him, somewhat confused. "-I thought I was sitting this one out so that you could let Nite and Buzz fight–...-"

Luca turned to Nate, but stopped as she saw his expression. She knew this one. Nate wasn't just pissed.

"Change of plans, Luca," Nate said in an eerily calm tone. "Go all out. Whatever _that_ sends out. Make sure it's just barely alive."

He wanted blood.

"-...Of course...-" Luca responded, her tone now serious as she turned to face her opponent, preparing a Bone Rush staff.

"So hasty to come and lose?" Miles shook his head. "So be it. I have the perfect counter for this too."

Miles smirked as he sent out a mainly red, squat ape-like Pokémon with long bushy flaming eyebrows.

" _And from Miles Riches' side comes out a rather formidable darmanitan! Thanks to Nate sending out his Pokémon first, Miles was able to pick out a Pokémon with a great type advantage!"_

"A Fighting/Steel-type like Lucario will fall to this Fire-type behemoth," Miles declared as he haughtily swiped his hair to the side. "One Sheer Force Flare Blitz is all that'll do it!"

" _A rather bold declaration from Miles!"_ the announcer boomed. _"And now, let the first match of Second Rounds...BEGI–!"_

Before the announcer could even finish, Luca was already right in front of Darmanitan and smashed her staff across its face, sending the Fire-type crashing into the wall.

"– _N...huh...?"_ the announcer asked, somewhat confused at what just happened.

"Wh-what...?" Miles asked, confused as well. "Darmani...tan...?"

Miles slowly looked to see Darmanitan in a wall, when just a second ago, he was standing right in front of him proudly, and instead Luca was in front of him. Nate signaled to Luca, who then proceeded to go to Darmanitan, grab it by the head, and proceed to slam him into the ground several times, before dragging it across the floor and throwing him back into the arena.

"-Don't faint, just yet,-" Luca hissed rather sadistically, a somewhat crazed smile adorning her face. "-My master wants to see you both suffer...-"

As Darmanitan got up, Luca already smashed her foot into its face, punting the large ape across the field. As it bounced across the field like a rock thrown on a lake, Luca proceeded to shoot several Aura Spheres at the darmanitan, pelting it with the projectiles as it landed.

"Damn it, what's going on here?!" Miles swore. "Get up, Darmanitan! And use Flare Blitz!"

Darmanitan managed to roll out of the way of the projectiles and proceeded to launch itself at Luca in a giant fireball. It connected, leaving a huge explosion from where the collision was.

"Hmph, there, what a bother you made yourself to be," Miles sighed in relief as he saw the attack connect. "Wait...what?!"

As the smoke cleared, it revealed that Luca had stopped Darmanitan with her two front paws, her four appendages floating as her entire body was exerting a blue aura.

"-Max aura...-" Luca muttered as she held the hulking Fire-type up high.

Nate stared at the darmanitan, then at the panicking Miles, before sporting a rather psychotic smirk full of glee at the opponent's turmoil.

"Crush him," Nate commanded with silent gusto.

Luca mimicked the psychotic grin with her own, as she proceeded to slam Darmanitan into the floor like a pillow. Darmanitan tried to break free from her grasp, but Luca held it firm, making sure it didn't get away as she proceeded to brutalize it even more.

"-Hahaha...ahahahahahaha...!-" Luca began to laugh as she continued to slam Darmanitan onto the floor, until it went into a complete demented cackling. "-AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!-"

The demented cackling filled the arena, unnerving everyone at the brutal carnage that was being unfold. This wasn't a battle anymore. It was a one-sided torture session.

Miles was shocked; no he was outright unnerved at the sight. His mighty darmanitan was no more pathetic than that eevee as the lucario was ripping it apart with little difficulty. Flare Blitz, his strongest move, didn't even dent the thing, as it tanked it and then proceeded to slam Darmanitan on the floor like a pillow at a pillow fight.

But what unnerved him the most was them. The lucario and that brat both had a grin that would look more suitable on a sociopathic serial killer.

"-P-Please...s-stop...-" Darmanitan was begging as he kept finding himself being slammed into the floor.

"-Did you not hear what I said earlier?-" Luca asked, suddenly stopping and bringing the darmanitan's face up close to hers. "-My master wants to see you both suffer...and now I want to see you both squirm.-"

Panicking for his life, Darmanitan suddenly shot a Flamethrower at Luca, causing her to let go and allowing Darmanitan to retreat to Miles.

"-Please, forfeit!-" Darmanitan was begging his trainer, who unfortunately couldn't understand him and was shocked at the sight. "-Please just end this and save me from this torture! Please, Miles, plea–?!-"

Darmanitan gagged out blood as Luca's fist was cemented into his back, as if the Flamethrower had no effect.

"-And who said we were done?-" Luca asked as she hurled Darmanitan back into the middle of the field.

Snapping out of his shock, he saw Darmanitan struggling to even move as Luca approached him, shooting Aura Spheres at the ape as she approached him.

"Flare Blitz! Kill this thing!" Miles yelled.

Against his better judgment, Darmanitan obeyed Miles and launched a Flare Blitz at Luca, hoping to finally take it out. This time Luca stopped it with only her right paw.

"-WEAK!-" Luca guffawed as she slammed Darmanitan back into the floor, proceeded to prepare another Bone Rush staff, before slamming it at Darmanitan like a golf club.

Darmanitan was sent into the wall behind Miles, barely missing the trainer as he was sent flying. Before Miles could make a move, Nate finally gave out another command.

"I think we're done here," Nate said, seemingly satisfied. "Aura Sphere. Max Power."

Luca clicked her tongue in some disappointment, but complied nonetheless. She charged an Aura Sphere to its full capacity, before launching it at the already down Darmanitan, blasting the poor fool with it, while grazing Miles slightly with it. Once the smoke cleared, Darmanitan was out for the count, several bruises and bloodied wounds littered across his body.

* * *

" _A-And with that one-sided onslaught, Darmanitan is down for the count!"_ the announcer declared, recovering from his initial stupor. _"Which means that Nate is the winner of the first match of the second rounds!"_

The crowd was silent for a moment, before slowly but surely letting out a roaring applaud for Nate.

"Nice work," he said as he recalled Luca, before walking up to Miles. "So? What happened to being the 'best trainer out there'?"

"Wh-wha...?" Miles stammered.

"That look suits you," Nate said tauntingly. "So how does it feel? To lose so badly to someone you thought of as a 'rookie with good enough luck'? You think this is luck too? You think that Luca slaughtering your pathetic excuse of a darmanitan was just 'luck'?"

Miles couldn't say anything back, but glared back at Nate, who seemed to relish in it.

"You mad? You feeling anguish? You feel like you want to crawl into a corner?" Nate mockingly asked. "Good. The pain you caused her is way more than that."

With that, Nate turned away from him, leaving Miles to wallow in his own shame.

"A deal's a deal by the way," Nate called out to him before he left. "You stay away from me and Rosa. That is, unless you want to see your precious Pokémon reduced to a bloody pulp."

Without even staying to listen to Miles' reply, Nate left the arena, a satisfied grin plastered on his face. As he returned to the backroom, however, his grin quickly returned to his usual frown.

"Alright, done with that twat," Nate announced.

No one said anything as they all eyed Nate with some disbelief and shock. Well, until Yancy walked up to him and handed him a towel.

"You're pretty sweaty," Yancy pointed out, seemingly unfazed by what she just saw a few moments ago on the screen.

"What, that's all you have to say?" Nate joked as he accepted it.

"Good job though," Yancy smiled. "That was...something though..."

"I guess," Nate shrugged, before glancing back to the others. "...What?"

"That was...a little much, don't you think?" Hugh asked.

"Hey, he had it coming," Nate shrugged, before he noticed Rosa and walked up to her. "...Yo."

"H-Hey..." Rosa mumbled.

"There, I defended your honor," Nate said. "At the very least, he got what he deserved."

Rosa looked up to the boy. She saw the match. She saw how quickly Nate and Luca descended into malevolent insanity and gleefully tormented Miles during the match. She could tell that he was outright furious; the fact that he immediately let Luca out and let her go all out presumably was proof enough. And as frightening and shocking it was to see Nate and Luca in such a crazed and sadistic state, she didn't feel any actual terror from him.

He got that furious for her sake. He did all that for her.

"...Thanks..." Rosa mumbled, a genuine smile back on her face.

"...Don't mention it, Rosa," Nate replied back, giving her a gentle smile as he turned to talk to the others.

Rosa perked up. He called her by her name. Not Bunhead, but 'Rosa'.

She finally earned his respect.

As Nate began to converse with Hugh once more, Rosa stared back at him. When she first met him, she thought of him as nothing more than a frustrating troll and jerk. But now? She certainly didn't think that at all. She saw how he developed as a human being as they traveled Unova. He supported her in his own, crude and blunt way. And in return, she and Hugh subtly showed him how to be more open with himself.

Although, from what he displayed out there, he and Luca harbored hidden extremity and insanity; but most importantly hatred. She could tell. When all the questions were revealed, Nate might be revealed as nothing more than a villain who was manipulating them all.

But Rosa couldn't find herself to care about that. At least not right now. She couldn't help but not care about that. In fact, she didn't care if he did turn out to be evil. She would gladly succumb to evil with him if that was the case.

She found herself falling in love with this potential maniacal villain.

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN:** Oh noes, Rosa's now smitten by Nate, and now it's Visorshipping vs Transceivershipping. Sorry if I rushed through the preliminaries, but I wanted to get to this point ASAP, and if I did go into ALL the battles, then this would be even longer than it needs to be, and frankly I'm tired. Next chapter will have all the battles more fleshed out, I promise. Personally, I think the PWT is one of the best things Pokemon included to the games, even if it was just form BW2.

FWI Miles Riches isn't an OC, but an actual NPC you can interact with in BW, although I basically inserted a new, horrible personality into him. Schwartzer on the other hand is an OC I made. You'll see why he's important in the near future. Oh yeah and Red and Blue's in there too. Will they affect the plot? I dunno, maybe.

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Nite (Pignite) / Buzz (Electabuzz) / Brav (Braviary) / Deo (Keldeo) / Zoro (Zoroark)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Growlithe) / Mandi (Mandibuzz)

Hugh: Flygon / Servine / Magmar / Tirtouga / Heracross

Welp, that's about it. Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see ya next time.


	13. 13: Progression

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 13: Progression**

* * *

 **AN:** Y'know I probs should've worked on Platinum Witch, but I found myself working on this more for some reason. Regardless, sorry for taking so long. If any of you follow Color of Your Soul, then you should know already, but in case you don't, the reason for my tardiness this time was due to a corrupted USB drive which resulted in me losing all my files, and forcing me to recreate the new chapters. Fortunately I managed to get Fidelity up, and now this, so all that's left is to recreate Chapter 3 of Platinum Witch and there, I'm all caught up, and I have to repeat this process...again...

Anyways, while I was gone, the starters for Sun and Moon, along with the legendaries and Rotom as a pokedex were revealed, and honestly, I love all of them. While personally I'm picking Sun and Rowlet, cuz I always pick the Grass starter for every new generation, they're all equally appealing to me.

And before you ask me if I will do a SuMo (SM) fanfic: yes I will, but not anytime soon; even when the games are released. I'll need some time to see what I'm working with, so don't expect me to upload anything SuMo related with the 500+ people who'll probably go on the SuMo bandwagon on this site in December.

Well regardless, let's get through some reviews:

 **flasyhero:** Hmm, maybe that could happen. But for a Nate v Red battle, that will most likely take place in the epilogue.

 **Anonymous Trainer:** I don't think that's the best ending line, but I'm glad you liked it at least! And yeah, like I said to flashyhero, maybe, but probably in the epilogue.

 **Tony Anderson:** Glad you liked it! And now for some more intensity!

 **Defender31415:** Yeah, Luca is scary when she's allowed to let loose. And at least I know you're standing mostly neutral for the love triangle.

 **Guest (Mar 28):** Thanks for the compliment! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

 **TheDarkMaster4000:** Gee, funny you say that, cuz now I'm REALLY late with this one lol. While it would be amusing to have Nate fear Red, I'm probably not gonna dwell that deep into it. Although I will mention this, that surprisingly Red will have some more significance in the future. Yeah, Nate's starting to open up and show some compassion towards his friends now (in his own, blunt, twisted way). And in return, his friends are now seeing him for who he is and stand for him regardless of it. Yay for character development and the power of friendship :D

And like I mentioned before, there will be an epilogue, but as of right now, I don't know how long it will be. And yeah that would be helpful if you along with all you lovely readers could point out any typos and whatnot, cuz odds are, I'm gonna upload these at like 3 at night and that means my brain is mush.

 **Bob the guest:** Lol calling him a feminist. That's actually pretty amusing. And yeah blue skirt is pretty much what everyone defaults to.

 **Pacha:** Glad you liked the battle scene. Hope you enjoy these scenes!

 **xQEAx:** Yeah Hilbert and Nate aren't exactly alike are they? But then again if you went through what Nate went through in his childhood, then you wouldn't be too forgiving of society.

 **sdhat11:** I dunno, maybe. (to both of your reviews)

 **FantasyLover88:** Thanks! Funny you'd mention Yancy's male counterpart though...

Unfortunately in this universe they are siblings. Sorry. However, this means that your last suggestion may be possible.

 **BreadNotDead:** Glad you liked everything that happened last chapter! And hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter as well!

 **soraroxas123:** Thanks! Glad you like it so far.

 **Eris:** Oh my god your review is bad for my 3 AM brain. Not saying you did anything wrong, but I'm kinda half-conscious right now and my brain's kinda mush right now. I like your interpretation on the love triangle here to be honest. It's the first I've seen this interpretation. Are you correct though? I dunno maybe (probably). And don't worry, Hugh will have more purpose, and won't just be a third (fourth?) wheel to the group. Yeah I also agree, his dilemma in canon felt a bit dragged out for me. So I opted to just get it over with to give him more development potential. And should Nate end up fighting Hilbert, then the results...won't be pretty. For one of them.

And for Rosa and Hugh's final members? Well good news, you'll get an answer for one of them, and eevee becoming espeon? Maybe. I have other plans, to be honest. Just watch and see what kind of madness I come up with.

And finally, regarding your interpretation of Nate's opinion towards his bro? Well I won't just blurt out the answer, but I will say this: his feelings/opinions towards Hilbert (and his family in general) can be interpreted in either way, and eagle grandpas make for great means of travel.

 **I M Poik:** Are FRLG and HGSS fanfics confirmed from me? Hmm...maybe...

Also funny you mention Rosa/Curtis...

 **kanrisha-san:** Well I'm glad you're willing to give Transceivershipping a chance, even if you area team Visor. Although spoilers, I didn't get all the matches in this chapter due to the length, so sorry, if you didn't see a match you wanted, expect it next chapter. But still, glad you liked it.

 **Zeffron Aquille:** That's no excuse at all. And newsflash, this is the internet. I don't know you personally or have ever met you in person (or have the ability to do so), so I can't make that judgment. And personally I'd like to leave it at that. If you aren't trolling, then good, we won't have any problems then.

 **Knight of Wings:** Yes, we all were reminded that Nate isn't exactly the angel. Also Luca isn't that far from the moral spectrum either. How he develops later on will probably leave you with judging whether he is redeemable or not. And yeah, while Rosa's battle may have been 'underwhelming', at least the build up was good, according to you. And what better way to show that you're not the best with an arrogant lech effortlessly handling you with relative quickness?

 **midnightson41:** Well thanks! Glad that you like it. Will I add Yancy to the roster? Actually, might as well since she's pretty much a main character now. Will there be a lemon?

Uh...I'm not too comfortable answering that. Oneshot? Okay maybe that.

 **Guest (Apr 15):** Thanks!

 **Tech:** Oh don't worry, I'm far from finished.

 **ANIMEFORDAYSXD:** Well welcome aboard, and glad that you like it! Rosa not getting enough spotlight though? RosaxCurtis? Well about that...

 **blue6798:** Thanks! Glad that you like it!

Okay that's done. Let's gooo!

* * *

Hugh cracked his knuckles as he heard the announcer's voice boomed for him and his competitor to go to the arena for their match. The azure-haired boy was motivated. He did pretty well in his first match against some ace trainer who had a rather formidable reuniclus, but Servine managed to pull through. He figured there would be lots of formidable opponents in this tournament, and boy was he right. Just by watching the first matches, he could tell that the competition was no joke.

As expected, Roxie, Clay and Professor Cheren easily beat their opponent; Roxie's Scolipede making quick work of her opponent's gothitelle, Clay's Krookodile trouncing his opponent's sawk, while Cheren's Unfezant effortlessly picked off his opponent's galvantula, in spite of all of them having the type disadvantage.

Surprisingly, Bianca proved to be just as capable as the others. Her mienshao fought on a ferocity that could match Cheren's; hell even Luca's intensity when she unleashed it upon that poor seismitoad.

Of course, Iris did well in her first match, her haxorus was still a powerful combatant, as expected. That poor cryogonal. Hugh would've sympathized more if he cared enough. Although, there were three more contestants to truly worry about.

First there was that Colress. From that debacle from the Castelia Sewers, Colress was able to easily handle all three of them. Had their starters not evolved at that timing, then Colress would've won. He certainly made quick work of his opponent's conkeldurr in spite that his magnezone had a type disadvantage, which further supports how dangerous Colress is.

Then there was that weird, black-cladded stranger, 'Schwartzer'. Nothing was known about him; not even his face or his real name. All that was known about him was that his shiny haxorus absolutely ripped that skarmory apart. Type disadvantage be damned, it made that Steel-type bird look like a flimsy Ice-type so quickly. 'Schwartzer' was just as dangerous as he was mysterious.

And then there was Nate.

That mauling Luca inflicted upon that darmanitan at the opening second round. Calling it brutal was a huge understatement. Even if his motives was noble, it was still much. It was one-sided. Luca tore the darmanitan apart just as viciously as that haxorus did. And if that weren't enough, Hugh would have to deal with him in the quarterfinals.

Well, he knew the competition was going to be fierce; he would need to put up his A-game.

His train of thoughts were cut off as he noticed his opponent; a portly, yet jolly-looking man by the name of Willy, entering the field.

"Ohohoho! What's a young lad like you doing here?" Willy asked. "This isn't a place for children, silly boy!"

Hugh narrowed his eyes as he reached for a pokéball.

" _Alright, now let's begin the second match!"_ the announcer declared. _"Trainers, get your Pokémon ready...!_

 _And BEGIN!"_

Hugh and Willy released their Pokémon at the same time. From Hugh's side came out Magmar, while from Willy's side came out a large Pokémon that resembled a giant chain of gray boulders that become smaller towards the tail.

"An onix..." Hugh muttered.

"I'll show you what a _real_ man's Pokémon battle is like!" Willy taunted. "Onix, Rock Slide!"

Onix roared as it shot out a boulder into the sky, which broke apart and released a shower of huge rocks upon Magmar. The Fire-type managed to avoid the attack, but got hit by a stray boulder.

"Magmar!" Hugh cried.

The fire duck shook off the pain as Onix continued to unleash more Rock Slides.

"What's wrong? Can't keep up, little boy?" Willy kept mocking Hugh.

"Magmar, Flamethrower!" Hugh kept his cool and ignored the hiker's taunting.

Magmar unleashed a stream of intense fire at Onix, engulfing it in flames and stopping it from spamming Rock Slide.

"HMMM?! Not a bad Flamethrower," Willy muttered. "But it's not enough to beat us! Onix, show him what a true man's Pokémon is made of! Double-Edge!"

Onix roared in response and lunged at Magmar at an alarming pace.

" _And Onix continues to go on the offensive! Will Hugh's Magmar be able to take on this Rock-type serpentine head on?!"_

"Jump on him!" Hugh commanded.

Magmar nodded as Onix approached him, where the fire duck jumped above Onix, before proceeding to land on it ascended up high.

"Muoo?! Shake him off, Onix!" the hiker yelled.

"Flamethrower!" Hugh yelled.

Onix thrashed about, trying to shake Magmar off, but the Fire-type clung on, blasting its head with intense flames. Eventually Onix managed to shake Magmar off, but was severely burned from the constant Flamethrower.

"Toughen it out, Onix! Double-Edge!" Willy yelled.

"Focus Blast!" Hugh yelled in retaliation.

As Onix charged at Magmar, the Fire-type charged energy between his hands and jumped over Onix. The energy became an orb of energy, as Magmar shot it at Onix's head, nailing a clean hit. The rock serpent fell to the arena, knocked out by the blast.

* * *

" _And it's over!"_ the announcer yelled. _"With a clean hit from that Focus Blast, Hiker Willy's Onix goes down! Trainer Hugh is the winner, and will proceed to the quarterfinals!"_

"Good job," Hugh congratulated Magmar as he recalled his Fire-type, before glancing at Willy, who was tending to his onix. "Next time, focus more on the battle instead of spewing useless taunts."

Before Willy could even respond, Hugh turned and left the arena, making his way back to the backroom. As he entered the room, something was thrown into his direction, which he caught at the last second. He glanced over to see Nate, eating a hamburger while lying on a bench, where Yancy and Rosa were seated at opposite sides from each other but next to Nate, Iris and Roxie were chatting amongst themselves, and Colress was by himself, tapping away on his tablet.

"Welcome back," Nate lazily greeted Hugh. "There, have a burger."

"Where'd you get these?" Hugh asked as he unwrapped his burger.

"Snuck out and bought some," Nate shrugged as he enjoyed his fast food. "Yeah, that's good..."

"You sound like you never had a hamburger before," Hugh chuckled.

"Well, considering circumstances, my main diet was berries, basculins, and whatever I could procure myself," Nate said. "Never had money unless I pickpocket."

"Sounds rough," Hugh muttered.

"Yep...It was rough alright..." Nate muttered back, before being handed a water bottle by Yancy. "Oh thanks."

"No problem," Yancy smiled as Nate accepted the water bottle. "I ended up getting a second one from the vending machine anyways..."

Nate sat back up and took a chug out of the bottle. While Yancy looked pleased, Rosa merely glared at the pinkette, her cheeks lightly colored.

"Uh...is something the matter?" Yancy asked, noticing how Rosa was staring intently at her.

"...Nothing..." Rosa grumbled.

"You sure?" Nate asked.

"Y-Yes, I am," Rosa stuttered somewhat.

Hugh noticed how the bunhead girl's cheeks were flushed when she stuttered. Hell, the fact that she stuttered was new to her. It was Nate, so there shouldn't have been a reason to stutter. Before Hugh could contemplate anymore, Iris surprised him from behind, placing the cold bottle against his back, making his shudder.

"Gah!" Hugh yelped, turning to see the chocolate-colored girl.

"Nice job out there," Iris smiled, handing him the bottle. "Being able to take on an onix with your magmar."

"Thanks," Hugh muttered, accepting the water bottle. "It was a good thing I taught Magmar how to use Focus Blast. Would've been a lot harder without it."

"Yeah true," Iris agreed.

"What about you though?" Hugh asked. "Your next match is up against that Schwartzer guy. His haxorus was something vicious."

"Yeah, I know," Iris replied. "He has an impressive haxorus. It was REALLY strong! But if it's a battle of Dragon-types, then I won't lose so easily!"

"Glad that you're pumped," Hugh chuckled. "...Say, how did Clay know you anyways?"

"Huh?" Iris asked.

"I mean, he only brought along other gym leaders and trainers he seemed to know," Hugh said. "So how does Clay know you? Did you beat him in a gym battle before?"

"Ah–yeah, you can say that," Iris stammered slightly.

Hugh tilted his head slightly in slight confusion, but didn't prod at it any further.

"So, what's the next match?" Hugh asked.

"I don't know, it didn't seem too important," Iris shrugged.

* * *

Before Rosa could try to get Nate's attention away from Yancy, something in her bag vibrated lightly. Looking confused, she rummaged through her bag, until she saw that the old Xtransceiver she picked up back in Nimbasa was ringing.

"I'm gonna step out for a bit," Rosa blurted, standing up and quickly leaving.

Nate and Yancy saw the bun-haired girl hastily leave, before glancing towards one another and gave each other a questioning glance. Rosa rushed outside the hall, before quickly taking out the Xtransceiver.

"Uh...h-hello?" Rosa asked, but was unable to see the other side for some reason.

" _Uh...Hello?"_ the other side replied.

"Are you this Xtransceiver's owner?" Rosa asked.

" _Oh yes! That's right!"_ the other side replied. _"I'm talking on an old Xtransceiver, so that's why there's no video. Sorry about that."_

"Oh, it's no problem." Rosa assured.

" _Thank you for finding it though,"_ the other side showed their gratitude. _"I dropped it at Nimbasa, and I was worried so much, but it sounds like it's in good hands. I want to pick it up as soon as possible, but I'm not sure if now's a good time...where are you anyways?"_

"Huh? I'm at Driftveil," Rosa replied.

" _You're in Driftveil?"_ the voice asked. _"That's perfect! I'm there right now! Meet up at the pokécenter?"_

"Sure," Rosa complied.

" _Thank you,"_ the voice said. _"I'll see you in a bit!"_

The call ended, leaving Rosa with the Xtransceiver.

"Well that's convenient, I guess," Rosa muttered. "...It's not like I have to stay for the rest of the tournament, anyways..."

Finding no reason to not go, Rosa grabbed her things and left the tournament, heading straight for the pokécenter. Once she reached the building, she saw a boy with light blonde hair that goes down to his shoulders from the back and dark green eyes, wearing a black, blue and green cap, green vest with a greyish collar, a black long sleeve shirt underneath, and jeans, pacing in front of the pokécenter.

"That must be him," Rosa said to herself as she approached the boy. "Um, excuse me?"

The boy jumped, before frantically hiding his face.

"Ah–No! I'm not who you think!" he squealed in panic.

"Uh...okay?" Rosa asked, before she took out the Xtransceiver. "Is this yours?"

"Huh?" the boy asked, before glancing to see the Xtransceiver. "Ah, yes! That's it! So you must be the person who picked up my Xtransceiver."

"I guess," Rosa shrugged as she handed him the Xtransceiver back.

"Sorry about that...I thought you were someone else..." the boy apologized as he accepted the Xtransceiver. "Well, uh...I guess, um...nice to meet you! The name's Curtis!"

"I'm Rosa," the girl introduced herself.

"Thank you for picking up my Xtransceiver," Curtis showed his gratitude. "Sorry for any trouble it might've caused."

"No, no, it was no problem at all," Rosa said.

"...Hey," Curtis said. "Are you doing anything later?"

"Huh?" Rosa asked.

She still had to go back to the tournament and group up with the others. They might be worried if she's gone for too long.

...But then again it wasn't like she _needed_ to be there. She lost the first round, so her not being there made no difference in the long run. Nate would've probably won anyways.

"...No, not really," Rosa replied.

"Oh, well then, I was wondering if you wanted to go sight-seeing for a bit," Curtis offered. "As thanks for finding my Xtransceiver, of course. Truthfully, this was my first time in Driftveil...I mean, if you don't mind..."

"...Sure," Rosa said. "I don't mind."

"Really?" Curtis asked, much more excited now. "Great! Where do you wanna go see?"

"How about the market?" Rosa suggested. "There's bound to be some stuff there. Maybe get you a souvenir or something."

"Sounds good to me," Curtis nodded. "Alright...so where's the market?"

"Follow me," Rosa giggled.

Rubbing the back of his head, Curtis followed Rosa as she led him to the Driftveil Market. The girl glanced back at the blonde boy as he looked around the city. He looked admittedly cute; naively looking around the city.

He also reminded her of Yancy for some reason.

* * *

" _Alright, let's get on with Round 4 of the Second Rounds!"_ the announcer yelled. _"Will both competitors for this round step up to the arena?!"_

On their cue, Roxie and Colress stepped up onto the arena, facing each other on the field.

"Hm, so you're the rumored nerd from Team Plasma," Roxie smirked, tossing a pokéball up in her hand.

"Looks like I have a reputation to protect, it would seem," Colress commented, putting away his tablet and glancing at the Poison-type gym leader.

"Heh! You better be able to keep up!" Roxie challenged. "I'm gonna show you the pride of the Unova Pokémon League!"

" _Trainers, get your Pokémon ready...!_

 _And BEGIN!"_

Roxie and Colress both released their Pokémon at the same time. From Roxie's side, her trusty Scolipede appeared on the field. From Colress's side, Metagross landed onto the field.

' _A metagross, huh,'_ Roxie thought, glancing at the blue steel titan. _'Steel and Psychic...Scolipede's Poison-type attacks won't do anything...but Scolipede has Earthquake, and Megahorn still does neutral damage. But what does this thing have up its sleeve though...?'_

Metagross stared at Scolipede with a cold, calculating gaze, patiently awaiting for its trainer's orders. Colress, meanwhile, was doing the same thing, seemingly examining the megapede.

"If you're not gonna do anything, then I'll gladly make the first move!" Roxie yelled. "Scolipede, Megahorn!"

Scolipede turned his two curved horns into long spears, before charging for Metagross.

"Parry it," Colress calmly commanded.

One of Metagross's front legs began glow as Scolipede thrusted for the Steel-type. Metagross quickly and easily parried the Megahorn away, before smashing Scolipede with the leg, sending it aside.

"Scolipede!" Roxie cried, but the Poison-type was able to land on his feet. "Damn, this thing is strong..."

"Meteor Mash."

Metagross's front legs glowed and the titan went for the offensive, charging at Scolipede.

"Fend it off with Megahorn!" Roxie yelled.

Scolipede prepped Megahorn once again, before being forced to retaliate against Metagross with the spears. Scolipede struggled to meet Metagross's Meteor Mash with Megahorn; the sheer difference in physical strength making it all the more difficult.

"Damn it, try to push it back!" Roxie yelled.

Scolipede roared in response, muscling up enough strength to push Metagross back, much to its surprise.

"Well now," Colress smirked.

"Earthquake!" Roxie yelled.

"Counter it with your own," Colress commanded.

Both Scolipede and Metagross lifted their front legs, before slamming them down onto the arena, causing two massive earthquakes to shake the ground. The two earthquakes met with one another, crashing into each other and forming one giant pillar made out of the faulted battlefield.

" _Incredible!"_ the announcer yelled. _"These two powerful Pokémon are ripping the field apart! It's a fight between two goliaths!"_

"Interesting," Colress commented, his smirk growing wider. "Truly interesting. Metagross, destroy the pillar!"

Metagross nodded, before smashing the newly-made pillar, causing it to explode into rubble and pelting Scolipede with it and creating massive dust clouds to cover itself.

"Agh!" Roxie yelled, shielding herself from the incoming rubble. "Scolipede! Megahorn straight ahead!"

In spite of the rubble pelting him and obscuring his vision, Scolipede obliged and thrusted a Megahorn attack straight forward, clearing the dust clouds that was blinding him. But much to his and his trainer's surprise, Metagross was nowhere to be seen.

"The hell?! Where is it?!" Roxie gasped, with her and Scolipede looking around frantically for Metagross.

"Zen Headbutt."

Before they could realize it, Metagross came crashing down from above, smashing Scolipede into the ground.

"Scolipede!" Roxie cried.

Once the smoke cleared, Metagross stood back up and returned to Colress's side, while Scolipede was embedded into the ground, completely knocked out.

* * *

" _AAND IT'S OVER! With a devastating Zen Headbutt from Metagross, Scolipede is down!"_ the announcer declared. _"Colress wins the round and moves on to the quarterfinals!"_

Colress nodded as he recalled his metagross, while Roxie kneeled down towards the downed scolipede.

"You did well, Scolipede," Roxie assured the megapede, before recalling it and looking up to Colress. "Yo! How did you do it?"

"Hm?" Colress asked.

"How was Metagross able to sneak up into the air?" Roxie asked.

"Oh that," Colress said. "Well then, while you were distracted with the rubble caused by the pillar, Metagross used Agility to and propelled itself into the air, before descending down with a Zen Headbutt."

"I see..." Roxie muttered.

"Regardless, your scolipede is well trained," Colress commented. "Not many could boast to be able to overpower Metagross like that. Plus the trust you two share is notable when it obeyed your last command."

"Thanks, I guess," Roxie scratched the back of her head.

"No, thank you," Colress smiled. "This battle, and the data it provided, will serve wondrous for my research."

With that, the two of them left the field, before returning to the backroom.

" _We will resume the remainder of the second rounds shortly once we repair the field,"_ the announcer informed everyone.

As the two returned to the backroom, Yancy was waiting for them with two water bottles in hand.

"Welcome back, you two," she said, before handing them the water bottles.

"Thanks," Roxie smiled, accepting the bottle.

"Thank you miss," Colress said politely, accepting the bottle as well, before returning to his corner.

"Did you buy these yourself?" Roxie asked as she opened the bottle and took a drink from it.

"Uh huh," Yancy said. "I'm not participating in the tournament, so the least I could do was help out in any way I could."

"Aww, thanks," Roxie cooed. "Still lost though..."

"Hey, the dude had a metagross, and you mainly use Poison-types," Nate offered, still laying on the bench he was sitting on. "You did pretty well, all things considering."

"Thanks," Roxie replied, somewhat surprised that Nate offered some sympathy. "You seem pretty relaxed."

"Well not much I can do right now," Nate said. "Just gotta wait 'till quarterfinals and for my next match."

Hugh looked up when Nate mentioned 'quarterfinals'. The bluenette had forgotten that he would be against Nate in his next match. This would be the first time the two square it off. And considering Nate's last performance on the field, Hugh knew fighting Nate would require his full potential for Hugh to even stand a chance.

" _We apologize for the wait, ladies and gentlemen, but the arena is now fully repaired!"_ the announcer announced. _"We shall now resume the second rounds! Will Iris Lilia and Schwartzer please step up to the field?"_

"That was fast," Nate muttered.

"Well they are running a tournament," Yancy offered. "I guess they have some quality maintenance."

"I guess," Nate shrugged. "Alright Dragon Girl, you're up."

Iris smirked as she stepped off her seat.

"Alright, let's do this!" Iris exclaimed.

"Good luck out there," Hugh said. "This guy's gonna be tough."

"Hehe, thanks," Iris smirked, before she left the room.

"...So she's your type?" Nate asked Hugh.

"What? What're you talking about?" Hugh asked, confused.

"...Oh nothing," Nate shrugged.

* * *

Rosa glanced around the bazaar, viewing the various merchandise they had for sale with Curtis.

"Wow, they have a lot of stuff here," Curtis said.

"Driftveil does have one of the largest markets after all," Rosa told him.

"Yeah, I can tell," Curtis agreed. "So, you said you were a trainer?"

"Yeah..." Rosa mumbled.

"...You don't sound too pleased about it," Curtis noted.

"Well, I thought I was a good trainer, but I'm starting to notice that my opponents are getting stronger, and I'm starting to fall behind," Rosa muttered. "I even lost the first round in a tournament today, so...I'm not sure what I want to do now..."

"Oh, I...see..." Curtis mumbled. "Well...have you won any gym badges?"

"Hm?" Rosa asked. "Well, I won five of them."

"Well then hey, that's not bad," Curtis said. "If anything, you're a lot better than most average trainers. You shouldn't just give up because of one bad day."

"I guess..." Rosa mumbled.

Curtis glanced over to see a stand that was selling smoothies. Glancing over to the slightly-depressed girl, Curtis walked over to the smoothie stand.

"Two pecha smoothies," Curtis said to the stand owner.

"Right, coming up," the man smiled as he went over to prepare the smoothies.

"Curtis?" Rosa asked.

"You need to let loose for today," Curtis said. "Just forget about today, have some fun, and just let loose."

That did sound nice. A whole day away from worrying about her battling skills and just relax. It sounded like a nice change of pace.

"Here you go, two pecha smoothies," the man said, handing Curtis the two smoothies. "That'll be 1600 pd."

"Here you go," Curtis said, paying the man and accepting the smoothies, before handing Rosa one.

"Thanks," Rosa said, taking a sip out of the smoothie.

"Enjoy your date," the man said with a teasing smile as the two left.

The two blushed when the man called it a 'date'; Curtis more so than Rosa.

' _Would this be considered a date...?'_ Rosa thought.

"Well that was sorta awkward..." Curtis laughed nervously.

"Y-Yeah..." Rosa mumbled as they continued to walk through the market.

"So you said you were a trainer," Curtis said. "You mind if I saw your team?"

"Huh?" Rosa asked. "Well...sure, I guess. C'mon, let's get out of here then."

Rosa led Curtis out of the market and to a more open space area, before she released her entire team out into the open. Eve, Ottavia, Nina and Mandi landed in front of her, glancing at Curtis questioningly.

"An eevee, a dewott, a growlithe and a mandibuzz," Curtis said as he looked at all of them. "Huh, they all look pretty good."

"You think so?" Rosa asked, perking up somewhat.

"Yeah," Curtis said. "While it may not be a full team, it's still pretty good."

"Thanks..." Rosa smiled.

"-Rosa, who's that?-" Eve asked.

"-Yes...who is this-?" Mandi asked, glaring at Curtis.

"C'mon, he's not a bad person," Rosa assured them. "Oh yeah, Ottavia, are you alright? Are your wounds feeling better?"

"-Oh, y-yeah...-" Ottavia replied.

"Hmm...Maybe you could catch another Pokémon," Curtis suggested. "I mena you only have four Pokémon after all."

"Catch another Pokémon..." Rosa said. That's right. Her team wasn't complete yet. She still had two more slots open. Surely adding two more members would help her immensely. "Yeah...that sounds like a good idea."

"Great then!" Curtis said. "You wanna look for something now? Route 6's not too far from here. There could be something there for you."

"Yeah...maybe..." Rosa said, her spirits climbing back up.

"Alright then, let's go," Curtis said as he finished his smoothie.

Rosa finished her smoothie, before following Curtis. Her team glanced at each other somewhat skeptically, but followed their trainer nonetheless.

* * *

" _We're halfway there in the second rounds! Now, let's get Round 5 started!"_

Iris stepped up onto the arena, where her opponent; the mysterious and black-cladded Schwartzer, stepped up onto the arena opposite of her.

"So you're the rumored Schwartzer, huh," Iris said. "That was a nice haxorus you had there."

"Well, well, if it isn't the Opelucid City Gym Leader," Schwartzer commented. "Or should I say 'former' now."

"Huh, so you know," Iris said. "Well then, let's see if your haxorus really is worth all the rage the other trainers are worrying about!"

"I'll try to meet your expectations then, Miss Dragon Expert," Schwartzer chuckled.

" _Trainers, get your Pokémon ready...!_

 _And BEGIN!"_

Iris and Schwartzer both released their Pokémon, where from Iris's side, a mighty hydreigon appeared onto the field. From Schwartzer's side, the black haxorus landed onto the field.

"Wow...it really does look as amazing on the field," Iris said, gaping at the shiny haxorus in awe.

Shiny Haxorus ignored Iris, glaring murderously at Hydreigon.

"Dragon Dance," Schwartzer commanded curtly.

"Oh right, the battle," Iris snapped out of her stupor. "Hydreigon, let's go for Dark Pulse!"

As Haxorus paced in a circling motion, Hydreigon aimed one of its arms at the black dragon and shot a stream of dark aura at him. Right before the Dark Pulse made contact, Shiny Haxorus finished his motions, before bulleting out of the attack range at a blistering speed.

"Fast...!" Iris gasped.

"Dual Chop."

Both of Shiny Haxorus's tusks glowed blue, before turning into two scythe blades as he lunged for Hydreigon. The hydra narrowly avoided the first strike, but Shiny Haxorus went for a bulleting uppercut, catching Hydreigon by the jaw.

"Hydreigon!" Iris cried out as the hydra was sent up into the sky.

Hydreigon managed to recover in midair though, now floating high above Shiny Haxorus. The black dragon never left his gaze off of Hydreigon, slowly walking around awaiting the next move the three-headed dragon would do.

"Keep on the offense! Dark Pulse!" Iris commanded.

Hydreigon aimed both of his arms at Shiny Haxorus before continuously shooting Dark Pulses at him. Shiny Haxorus sneered, before swiftly avoiding all of the attacks thanks to his newly buffed agility.

"Dual Chop."

Shiny Haxorus's tusks turned back into blue scythe blades and he jumped for Hydreigon. Surprised by the sudden assault, Hydreigon hastily fell back, but Shiny Haxorus was able to catch the hydra with the first chop, smashing it into his gut, before maneuvering himself in midair to slam Hydreigon into the ground with the second one. The hydra was sent plummeting to the ground, while Shiny Haxorus landed away from him. The hydra was able to get back up, but was panting heavily.

"Hydreigon, are you alright?" Iris asked worringly, and to her relief, Hydreigon nodded in response.

"Impressive," Schwartzer commented as Shiny Haxorus looked down on Hydreigon. "To be able to take this much punishment and still stand, especially considering they were all super effective...as expected of you, Iris."

"You flatter me," Iris shot back, as Hydreigon glared back at Shiny Haxorus. "I can see why everyone's so afraid of you though...that haxorus is something."

' _But if I keep going on, then Hydreigon won't last much longer...'_ Iris thought. _'I need to finish this here and now!'_

"Alright, Hydreigon! It's all or nothing!" Iris announced. "Use Draco Meteor!"

Hydreigon rose up to the sky, before revealing a dark blue gem within his possession.

"A Dragon Gem..." Schwartzer commented. "...Swords Dance."

Shiny Haxorus closed his eyes, as several swords began to surround him. Meanwhile, Hydreigon ate the gem, where a dark blue aura surrounded Hydreigon. As the swords that were dancing around Shiny Haxorus began to dissipate one by one into red mist that flowed into Shiny Haxorus to power him up, the hydra then proceeded to release said aura into the air, where it exploded into several energy spheres the size of meteors to rain down upon Shiny Haxorus.

" _WHAT'S THIS!? Iris's Hydreigon had been hiding such a powerful attack as a trump card!"_ the announcer boomed. _"Will Schwartzer's Haxorus be able to withstand such a daunting attack?!"_

"Brick Break."

Shiny Haxorus let out a monstrous roar as his tusks glowed in energy, before converging to form one blade, and lunged for Hydreigon. The force of the jump was enough to leave a small crater around where the black dragon once stood, and the power of the attack was enough to allow Shiny Haxorus to literally rip through any Draco Meteor that met his path, effortlessly breaking through the attack like they were mere pebbles.

"What?!" Iris yelled in shock.

Before Hydreigon could react, Shiny Haxorus shot into the Dark-type Dragon with the Brick Break right at the gut, before shooting into the ceiling of the building. Shiny Haxorus ripped Hydreigon out of the ceiling, before hurling him back onto the arena. As Shiny Haxorus landed, he walked over to Hydreigon, who was knocked out for the count, looking down upon it with bloodthirsty eyes.

* * *

" _INCREDIBLE!"_ the announcer screamed. _"Schwartzer's Haxorus was able to muscle through such a devastating attack and seal the deal! Hydreigon is down for the count, which means Schwartzer is the winner!"_

The audience roared as Schwartzer walked towards his haxorus.

"Nice job out there," the masked man said, before taking out his pokéball.

Shiny Haxorus nodded, but his gaze never left Hydreigon until he was recalled into his pokéball. Iris, meanwhile, rushed over to her hydreigon.

"Are you alright?" Iris asked the hydra.

Hydreigon managed to groggily respond with a weary, toothy smile, but coughed up some blood from the sheer pain of the last attack.

"You did great out there," Iris assured him. "You deserve a nice long rest."

Iris recalled her hydreigon, before standing back up to face Schwartzer.

"That was...amazing..." Iris didn't know what else to say.

"Likewise," Schwartzer replied. "That was a good battle."

"But Hydreigon didn't even land a move on your haxorus," Iris mumbled in a defeated tone.

"Come now, don't be like that," Schwartzer said. "I saw the Dragon Gem your Hydreigon had. If that Draco Meteor had managed to hit Haxorus even once, then you would've won. I had to make some emergency measures once I saw the gem."

"But still, your haxorus was amazing out there," Iris complimented. "Even if it was from a Dragon Dance, it was so fast."

"He was trained up to be the very best he can ever since he was an axew, after all," Schwartzer replied, before extending his hand. "I do wish you good luck with the rest of your endeavors, Unova Champion."

Iris's eyes widened slightly in shock, but smiled as she accepted the handshake. Fortunately the audience was loud enough to block that quiet statement out.

"Likewise," Iris responded, before putting up a determined smirk. "Next time, I'll win though."

"I'll be looking forward to that day then," Schwartzer chuckled as they broke off and headed back to their respective exits. "Oh, and I apologize if Haxorus acted more aggressive than normally. He just doesn't like hydreigons very much."

That last comment left the tan-skinned girl somewhat confused, but she let it slide as she headed back to her backroom.

"Nice job out there," Hugh said as she came back in, tossing her water bottle at her.

"Thanks," Iris said, catching it. "Man, that haxorus was really strong..."

"No kidding..." Hugh agreed. "If anything, that guy's the trainer to watch out for in this tournament."

While everyone else was discussing about the black-cladded trainer, Hugh noticed that Nate and Yancy were absent from the room.

"Wait, where're they?" Hugh asked, talking about Nate and Yancy.

"They stepped out of the room for a moment," Colress informed Hugh. "Apparently they needed to discuss something."

"Discuss? Discuss what?" Hugh asked.

* * *

"So basically your dad wasn't impressed enough with our mock battle against Elese the other day, demanded you work harder for the sake of money or something that doesn't involve your feelings, saw you as merely a worker instead of a daughter, you took my advice to stride, and ran away, and here you are now," Nate said, summing up Yancy's explanation. "Is that it?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," she said.

Nate and Yancy were outside of the backroom, where the boy had confronted the idol-in-hiding about the news about her 'disappearance'. Apparently on the other day after Nate had left from his 'interview', Yancy's father/manager had not liked their performance against Elesa. While the battle was a success, he wasn't pleased with how the 'random trainer' was taking charge the majority of the battle, with the actual 'star' taking up a support role and was pushed to the sidelines. And the last attack didn't help in any ways. While it did win them the battle, many people didn't approve of the apparent friendly fire attack, sacrificing her teammate for the victory painted a negative image on her. The man blamed Nate for apparently 'stealing' the spotlight from her and causing the negative image to be implemented upon her and tainting her career. While Yancy protested against it, her father didn't seem to care. For the sake of her career, her father/manager was planning on putting a tighter leash around her; scheduling more concerts, more charity events, etc. Anything to bring her image back up. When Yancy tried to argue, he didn't listen, and dismissed her.

 _"In that case, remake it. If no one remembers who 'Yancy' was, then remake that personality. From the scraps of your old personality, remake it into a new one; one that you're true to and that you'll be proud of."_

If she hadn't met up with Nate beforehand, then Yancy would have conceded begrudgingly and listen to her father. She remembered the advice he told her. Which she decided to follow to heart by running away. She had enough. She wasn't her father's tool anymore. She was her own being. And she would prove it.

"And because of that, the news is now saying you disappeared," Nate summed it up. "Like I'm flattered you followed my own life advice, but did you think this through?"

"Ah–N-No..." Yancy mumbled.

"Ugh..." Nate groaned, scratching the back of his head. "...You...don't want to go back, do you?"

"Uh uh..." Yancy mumbled, lowering her head in shame.

Nate grumbled under his breath. Keeping her with them any longer would certainly come back to haunt them in the future. Who knows what the media (and her dad) would think if they caught her with them? They would probably think that they kidnapped her for their own personal gains.

But she didn't want to go back there and presumably continue having to listen to her father without any consideration about her own feelings. She fled from him to find an opportunity to become her own person. And sending her back there would ruin it all. She may never have a chance like this ever again.

"...Ugh..." Nate groaned. "Fine. You can stay with us."

"R-Really?!" Yancy blurted.

"I mean you don't want to go back, and I'd feel like a douche if I brought you back to your dad when you don't want to," Nate muttered. "Although this is probably a bad idea."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Yancy squealed, throwing herself into Nate for a hug.

"Gah!" Nate blurted. "But! You're gonna have to go back to him and explain things eventually. Maybe even make a compromise."

"Uh huh!" Yancy smiled.

Nate glanced down to the smiling pinkette as she embraced him. Sending her back was the smart choice. But she didn't want to go. And for that, he didn't want to send her back. He contemplated on returning the embrace and proceeded to try to do so, but he hesitated, and stopped before he could touch her.

"C'mon, let's head back," Nate told her, making her release him from her embrace.

"A-Alright..." Yancy mumbled, moving ahead and hiding her blushing cheeks from him.

' _...I'm getting soft...'_ Nate internally grumbled, looking away to hide his blushing cheeks as he followed Yancy.

* * *

"Nina, Flamethrower!"

Nina spewed a stream of intense flames at the opposing tranquill, scorching it with the fire. The bird flew back, before going in for a dive bomb.

"Now, Crunch!" Rosa commanded.

Nina jumped at the incoming tranquill, before sinking her teeth into the bird, wrestling it down to the ground until the bird was knocked out from the damage.

"Good job," Rosa said as Nina let go of the tranquill and happily rushed over to her.

"Impressive," Curtis commented as he watched Rosa battle.

"I haven't been using Nina in a while," Rosa admitted. "I figured she needed some time to fight."

The duo were out in Route 6, where Rosa was training her Pokémon and trying to find a suitable fifth member for her team. While there was no such luck so far, her Pokémon were able to get somewhat stronger and learn some new moves; Nina especially after learning Flamethrower and Crunch.

"Now, if only Nina could learn Flare Blitz..." Rosa muttered.

"But for now, this looks like a pretty good set up," Curtis said.

"I guess," Rosa shrugged. "Well for now, let's see what else is in the area–."

As Rosa looked towards the tall grass, Nina suddenly rammed into Rosa, pushing her out of the way of a shard of ice that was shot straight at her.

"What the–?!" Rosa blurted.

They turned around and, to their surprise, saw an enraged Miles along with his donphan, glaring murderously at the bun-haired girl.

"Miles?" Rosa asked.

"You! You dirty whore!" Miles growled. "Because of your barbaric boyfriend, I lost the tournament!"

"Wha–boyfriend?!" Rosa exclaimed confusedly. "Wait, you mean Nate?"

"Yeah that little dirt bag!" Miles hissed. "Because of you, your boyfriend beat me, I lost the tournament, and now Father cut me off of my funding!"

"How is that my fault?!" Rosa argued. "That's your own fault for provoking him in the first place!"

"He wouldn't have been provoked if it wasn't for you, and I would've beaten him!" Miles shot back. "And now you're gonna pay for it! Even if I have to drag you back kicking and screaming!"

Rosa took a step back as Nina growled at Miles, but Curtis stepped in, a pokéball in hand and a rather menacing glare on his face.

"I don't know what's going on," Curtis said rather dangerously. "But it sounds like this is your own fault. And you have no right to blame it all on Rosa here."

"Curtis...?" Rosa asked.

"And who do you think you are?" Miles spat. "Outsiders shouldn't get involved! Or do you want to feel my wrath?"

"Well don't you think so highly of yourself," Curtis growled as he released his own Pokémon, a large, dark-gray dinosaur-like Pokémon resembling a Pachycephalosaurus. "Mind if I knock you down a few pegs?!"

"A rampardos...?" Rosa gasped at the sight of the dinosaur.

"Hmph! You really think such a fossil will stand a chance against my donphan?" Miles scoffed as Donphan got ready to fight Rampardos.

"Well isn't this a rather heated standoff."

A new voice interrupted everyone as they looked around, wondering who decided to barge in this time. Rosa glanced to the side, where someone was standing right next to her.

"Whoa?!" Rosa yelped, jumping back in surprise. _'When did she even get next to me?!'_

The person next to her was a girl much older than Rosa, with long brown hair wearing a white sleeveless overcoat over a white and gray dress with black stockings and white and gray boots, along with white sleeves that covered her arms. The girl wore a white opera mask, covering her eyes, yet allowing her to flash a rather mischievous smile.

"And you are?" Miles asked.

"Oh, just a passing-by traveler," the woman said coyly. "It would seem that you all are arguing about something. Mind if I join in?"

Miles leered at the newcomer, before glancing over her.

"Well now, might as well," Miles said, his tone much more relaxed. "So, what is a fine woman like you doing here?"

' _Is he...trying to hit on her?!'_ Rosa thought, recognizing the seductive tone he switched to.

"Hm, I just happened to be in the neighborhood, when I heard some yelling," the woman replied. "So I went to where all the yelling was and I find myself a rather pompous fool, a rather noble boy and the innocent girl who's stuck in the middle."

"Well then, would you like to watch as I trash this fool over there?" Miles asked in a seductive tone. "And then maybe once I'm done with her, then you and I can go tour around the city?"

Rosa looked enraged and was about to lash out on Miles, but the woman placed a hand on Rosa's shoulder, stopping her.

"Flattering, but I'm already in a relationship with someone," the woman casually replied. "And he's much more of a man than you, you pompous fool."

"...Excuse me...?" Miles asked, his tone dropping. "Do you not know who I am?"

"All I see is an arrogant third-rate who's in way over their head," the woman replied coyly. "Am I wrong?"

"Why you insolent...!" Miles growled. "Fine then! I'll teach you a lesson first!"

"Oh, do go ahead and try," the woman beckoned. "That is, if you can."

"That tears it!" Miles yelled. "Donphan, Ice Shard that whore!"

At his command, Donphan created several shards of ice and shot them at the woman. The woman, in response, revealed a pokéball and released the Pokémon inside of it, the flash that the pokéball caused blinding everyone. Once the light quickly dissipated, a Pokémon had shielded the attack from its trainer. The Pokémon was a small, dark brown bipedal Pokémon that vaguely resembled a ram; with blue curled horns and amber, oval-shaped eyes. The Ice Shard had been cushioned by the large, white cotton-like substance that covered its back, neck and forehead.

* * *

"A shiny whimsicott?!" Rosa gasped, before frantically taking out her pokédex and scanning the creature.

"Whimsicott, the windveiled Pokémon," it read. "They appear along with whirlwinds. They pull pranks, such as moving furniture and leaving balls of cotton in homes."

"Hm, an Ice-type move, yet it did barely anything to her," the woman mused. "Are you sure you're cut out for this?"

"Why you–!" Miles yelled. "Donphan, Rollout!"

"Stun Spore."

Before Donphan could even move, Shiny Whimsicott already released spores from her cotton, showering Donphan with them and paralyzing the elephant and preventing him from using his move.

"What?!" Miles gasped.

"It went first?" Curtis asked.

"Whimsicott's Ability is Prankster, after all," the woman explained. "All her status moves will always outspeed the opponent's move, provided they don't have ascended priority, like Quick Attack or Bullet Punch."

"Tch! Ice Shard!" Miles growled.

Trying to fight the paralysis, Donphan created several more ice shards and shot them at Shiny Whimsicott. The Grass-type giggled as she easily avoided all the Ice Shards as if she was dancing around them.

"-Ahaha! Too slow, too slow!-" Shiny Whimsicott taunted as she kept dodging the Ice Shard.

"She's fast," Curtis commented as he saw the spectacle in awe.

"Insolent plant!" Miles gritted his teeth as he released Darmanitan as well. "Flare Blitz!"

Darmanitan glanced at Shiny Whimsicott, and sighing in relief, before preparing to shroud himself in fire, but Shiny Whimsicott had already released another Stun Spore at the burning ape, paralyzing him and ceasing the attack.

"Argh!" Miles grunted in frustration. "You annoying little shit!"

"Now, now," the woman reprimanded lightheartedly, waving her finger mockingly. "You know better than to cheat. Now then, let's finish this. Giga Drain on Donphan."

Shiny Whimsicott was already behind Donphan, before her horns glowed green and shot out at the Ground-type, ensnaring him by the trunk and draining the energy out of him. Before Donphan could realize it, he felt all his energy being sapped away, before fainting.

"What?!" Miles gasped.

"One down, one more to go," the woman said as Shiny Whimsicott set her eyes to the struggling Darmanitan.

"Y-You're still a Grass-type!" Miles stammered, now realizing that he was losing. "You still can't beat a Fire-type like Darmanitan!"

"Oh you're so naïve that it hurts," the woman pouted. "Whimsicott, Hurricane. End this pathetic man's show, would you be so kindly?"

"-Happy to oblige, milady,-" Shiny Whimsicott replied cutely, before creating a blade of air above her, and shooting it at Darmanitan like a Frisbee.

The blade of air hit below Darmanitan, before it expanded into a violent tornado, engulfing Darmanitan into it, before ripping him apart. Once it ended, the fire ape fell to the ground, completely knocked out.

* * *

"Oh, such a waste," the woman sighed. "You really aren't as good as you think you are, y'know that?"

"Wha-but-wha...?" Miles sputtered, unable to comprehend what just happened.

"Now then," the woman said. "I suggest you leave, before Whimsicott here decides she wants thirds."

Shiny Whimsicott leered at Miles, prompting the boy to recall his fainted Pokémon and frantically run away from the route rather pathetically.

"Hmph, such fools," the woman scoffed, before turning to Rosa and Curtis "Are you two alright?"

"Uh...Y-yeah..." Curtis said while Rampardos nodded dumbfounded. "Thank you for helping us out there."

"Oh, it's no problem," the woman assured. "Personally I can't stand men like that. Perverted worms who think they're at the top of the food chain, when in reality, they're little more than the dirt on the ground."

"W-Wow..." Rosa gaped, still in awe from the woman's performance.

"So, from what I overheard before that garbage showed up," the woman said. "You're looking for another Pokémon, correct?"

"Huh? Oh, y-yes..." Rosa stammered, somewhat intimidated by the woman.

"C'mon, you don't have to be afraid," the woman giggled. "I won't bite."

"R-Right..." Rosa sighed.

"Well, maybe I can help," the woman said as she walked ahead, beckoning the other two to follow.

Exchanging a few glances, Rosa and Curtis followed the woman as she led them to a hollow that was hidden within several trees.

"What's in here?" Rosa asked.

"These are known as 'Hidden Grottoes'," the woman explained. "Like the name implies, they're grottoes that are hidden from the naked eye, usually housing rare items. Sometimes even Pokémon with their Hidden Abilities."

"Pokémon with their Hidden Abilities?!" Rosa gasped.

"Yep," the woman said as she entered the grotto, with Rosa and Curtis following. "Their existence has been recently discovered by Professor Juniper's assistant, Bianca Belle, but as to how many of them even exist are still a mystery. Oh...?"

As they reached the end of the narrow path, they found themselves into an open space, hidden by the trees. In the middle of it, stood a mushroom-like Pokémon with a large, light-colored pokéball designed cap with warts.

"Well looks like we have a winner," the woman said as Rosa scanned the Pokémon.

"Amoonguss, the mushroom Pokémon. It moves the caps on both arms and does a dance to lure prey. It prefers damp places."

"An amoonguss..." Rosa muttered.

These Pokémon were known to be the more bulkier and defensive Grass-type Pokémon that Unova had to offer. Blessed with good support moves such as 'Clear Smog', 'Stun Spore', and the rare and powerful 'Spore', amoonguss were very good, if not passive Pokémon. Perhaps such a Pokémon would be a good fit to her team...

The amoonguss noticed the group and kept staring at them, seemingly studying them.

"So, is this a good enough candidate?" the woman asked, snapping Rosa out of her stupor.

"Right," Rosa said as she stepped up, with Nina getting in front of her and growling at Amoonguss.

* * *

The mushroom noticed Nina, and recognized her as his opponent, before getting ready to battle.

"Nina, Flamethrower!"

Nina spewed a Flamethrower at Amoonguss, who retaliated by shooting a cluster of sludge from his mouth. The colliding attacks caused an explosion, blinding Nina. As the dog shielded herself, Amoonguss jumped in front of Nina, and shot a green powder into her face.

"-Agh!-" Nina coughed, before feeling drowsy. "-Why am I...so...sleepy...?-"

Nina then proceeded to fall over, having fell asleep.

"Nina!" Rosa cried. "Damn it, must've been Spore..."

"You might need this," the woman said, handing Rosa a blue, chesnut-like berry.

"A Chesto Berry...?" Rosa asked, before remembering what the Chesto Berry does. "Thank you!"

Rosa rushed over to Nina, getting the dog to devour the Chesto Berry in her sleep, before promptly waking up.

"Are you alright?" Rosa asked Nina.

Nina looked up and barked in response, before hastily pushing Rosa out of the way of another cluster of sludge. The dog glared at Amoonguss, who calmly stared at the dog.

"We need to be more careful," Rosa told Nina. "If we get caught by Spore again, then there's no telling what will happen..."

Nina nodded, while Amoonguss shot another cluster of sludge at the dog, who dodged it and shot a Flamethrower in retaliation. Amoonguss shielded himself from the Flamethrower, withstanding the pain as much as he can. Amoonguss, in response, shot green beam whips from his arms at Nina, which ensnared the dog and began to drain energy from her.

"-Aaaah?!-" Nina yelped in pain.

"Nina!" Rosa cried out.

"Is that Giga Drain...?" Curtis asked. "This is bad, Rosa. It's recovering its health!"

"Nina, you gotta break out of it!" Rosa pleaded. "Try Crunch!"

The dog did her best to withstand the pain and gnawed at the whips to break them, but to no avail.

"Crunch won't do it..." Rosa muttered. "That's it, Flame Wheel!"

Nina roared in defiance, as intense fire covered her, burning off the whips in the process.

"Wait...that doesn't look like Flame Wheel..." Rosa muttered in confusion.

"Well, probably because that's Flare Blitz," the woman pointed out. "Congratulations, your growlithe knows Flare Blitz."

Casting a worried gaze, Amoonguss shot another cluster of sludge at Nina, but the shroud of fire was enough to shield her from the attack.

"Nina, Flare Blitz!" Rosa yelled.

Roaring in determination, Nina lunged for Amoonguss in a fire ball of scorching flames. Amoonguss wasn't able to evade the attack, and felt himself getting rammed with a giant ball of fire, blasting him with the infernos and causing a huge explosion. Nina bounced back, suffering from the recoil, while Amoonguss fell to the ground, barely holding on to consciousness. Seeing this as an opportunity, Rosa quickly got out an empty pokéball.

"Now!" she yelled as she hurled the pokéball at Amoonguss.

The ball hit Amoonguss, swallowing the mushroom into the capsule via a red laser, before dropping to the ground. The ball shook three time, before it sparkled slightly, signaling a successful capture.

* * *

"Yes!" Rosa exclaimed in joy, as she ran over to retrieve the pokéball.

"-Alright!-" Nina barked happily, before jumping into Rosa's arms.

"You were great out there, Nina!" Rosa congratulated the dog. "You even learned Flare Blitz! I'm so proud of you!"

"Congratulations, Rosa," Curtis said as he and the woman walked up to her. "You were amazing out there."

"Thanks," Rosa replied, before turning to the woman. "And thank you for giving me this opportunity.

"Oh it's no problem at all," the woman smiled. "It's also a good thing that you seemed to regain your confidence."

"Huh?" Rosa asked.

"You seemed down under the weather when I found you two," the woman explained. "So I figured helping you might make you feel better."

"Well, yeah...actually..." Rosa mumbled, before deciding to explain to the woman her recent slump.

"I see..." the woman nodded. "Well then, you shouldn't feel bad."

"I shouldn't?" Rosa asked.

"Of course," the woman said. "No one's perfect. You will lose eventually. But the important thing is to learn from it and improve yourself from there. You shouldn't just give up because you lost once. And if you feel that you're falling behind, then just do your best to catch up. I'm sure a talented young girl like you can do it."

"You really think so?" Rosa asked.

"Uh huh,"" the woman smiled. "Now, let's get out of here and get some fresh air."

Agreeing to that sentiment, Rosa and Curtis followed the woman out of the Hidden Grotto. While they stepped out, Rosa decided to scan her newly caught amoonguss and his personal data.

"Bold Nature...Male...Capable of taking hits...Ability is Regenerator...so that's his Hidden Ability, I would presume..." Rosa said. "Knows the moves Spore, Giga Drain, Hidden Power, and Sludge Bomb."

"That's an impressive amoonguss," the woman commented as they stepped out of the grotto. "He'll sure to prove to be a valuable member to your team."

"Yeah..." Rosa said as she stared at Amoonguss's pokéball. "Hm...Amoonguss...guss...Gustav...that sounds like a good name."

The group stepped out of the hidden grotto, where the woman stretched her arms out.

"Well that was eventful," the woman said. "Well I better get going."

"Huh? You're leaving?" Rosa asked.

"Yeah, I have some business to attend to," the woman admitted sheepishly. "So sorry, but I gotta go."

"Oh I see..." Rosa said. "But thank you for everything you've done today."

"No problem," she smiled. "Oh, and before I go."

The woman rummaged through her coat, before taking out a yellow stone with a fire crystallized into it.

"A Fire Stone?!" Rosa gasped.

"I found it while investigating the Grotto a few times before hand," the woman said, before handing it to Rosa. "I'm sure you could use it more than me."

Feeling extremely giddy, Rosa happily accepted the Fire Stone.

"Thank you so much!" Rosa exclaimed, before facing Nina. "Nina! Are you ready to evolve?"

"-What? Really?-" Nina gasped.

The bun-haired trainer placed the stone onto Nina's head, where Nina began to glow and grow, as the Fire Stone dissipated. Once the light ceased, in place of Nina was a quadruped, canine Pokémon with an orange pelt marked by jagged black stripes, with diamond-shaped ears with beige insides, black eyes, and covered in shaggy beige fur on its head, muzzle and chest except for two oval sections around each eye and ear. As Nina examined herself, Rosa was jumping for joy as she scanned Nina's new form.

"Arcanine, the legendary Pokémon. The sight of it running over 6,200 miles in a single day and night has captivated many people."

Today was a good day. While sure she lost the first round, she was able to see that jerk Miles get his ass handed to him handily twice, captured a new member for her team and Nina evolved, while learning some powerful moves. This was great! Maybe with this, she would be able to catch up with the boys. And maybe then, Nate would think of her in a more positive light...

"Well today must be a good day for you," Curtis chuckled, while noting how it was already twilight. "You captured a new member, and your growlithe evolved."

"I can't thank you enough!" Rosa exclaimed to the woman.

"It's no problem at all," the woman smiled, before getting ready to leave. "Although I _really_ better get going."

"R-Right," Rosa said. "That's right, I never got your name. I'm Rosa Echoes."

"You can call me Weiss," the woman finally revealed her name. "It was nice meeting you, Rosa. Hopefully we'll meet up in the future, and maybe we can have a battle then."

"A battle..." Rosa mouthed, before sporting a more determined look on her face. "You can count on it!"

Weiss smiled, before she left the area, leaving Rosa and Curtis to themselves.

"We better get going too," Curtis said, pointing to the twilight. "It's getting late."

"Right..." Rosa said. "Let's head back to the pokécenter."

* * *

By the time they reached the pokécenter, it was already dark outside. She quickly rushed into the center and had her Pokémon healed up by the nurse, where her Xtransceiver rang.

"Huh?" Rosa asked as she picked it up. "Hello?"

" _Where the hell are you?!"_ Nate angrily shouted from the other line. _"A step for fresh air shouldn't have taken fucking_ _ **FIVE hours**_ _!"_

"Oh crap..." Rosa paled, realizing that she basically ditched them all for the entire day. "S-Sorry..."

" _Ugh...well at least you're safe and sound..."_ Nate muttered. _"But you still owe us an explanation for disappearing for five hours. Everyone's worried."_

"Sorry..." Rosa mumbled ashamed. "How's everything over there?"

" _Eh? Well after you left, Colress beat Roxie, that Schwartzer weirdo beat Iris, Klutzy Four-eyes–I mean Bianca won, and we're right now in the middle of Cowlick–I mean Cheren or whatever, versus Clay,"_ Nate recalled. _"Cowlick basically stopped caring about being a gym leader and is using his actual team, if the jellicent is any indication, so he should be able to deal with the old man's excadrill."_

"I see..." Rosa said.

" _After Cowlick's match, the tourney's done for the day, and is gonna resume tomorrow,"_ Nate explained. _"Dragon Girl and Punk Girl already have a hotel booked and offered some extra rooms for us to crash for the night, so meet up at the hotel next to the pokécenter."_

"Right," Rosa replied.

" _...You look a lot happier,"_ Nate commented. _"Did something happen while you were out?"_

"I'll tell you about it when we meet up at the hotel," Rosa replied. "But yes, a lot happened."

" _Well at least you're not depressed anymore,"_ Nate shrugged. _"Personally you look better as your usual self. Anyways, we'll meet up there."_

As Nate hung up, Rosa was glad that he didn't notice her intense blushing. Sighing, the girl put her Xtransceiver away.

"You're meeting up with your friends?" Curtis asked.

"Oh yeah," Rosa replied. "I kinda ditched them by accident..."

"Well that's alright," Curtis chuckled. "I should be on my way too. Oh, hey, you mind if we exchange numbers?"

"Huh? Sure," Rosa agreed, as the two exchanged contact numbers.

"Thanks," Curtis smiled. "It was fun hanging out with you. And I was wondering, if it was alright if we could still talk...y'know, via Xtransceiver."

"Of course," Rosa smiled. "It was nice meeting you too, Curtis."

"Y-Yeah..." Curtis mumbled, blushing slightly. "Oh, and one more thing. I might as well let you know too just in case."

"Huh? What's wrong?" Rosa asked.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I'm looking for someone," Curtis explained. "My sister. She ran away from home, and I'm kinda looking for her. Our dad's really angry and worried that she left, and so am I, so I was wondering if you do manage to find her, you could let me know."

"Oh of course," Rosa nodded. "You must be really worried."

"Yeah...hopefully she's alright though..." Curtis said. "As for descriptions...well, whenever she goes out, she's usually wearing a white and hot pink panama, white short-sleeved shirt over blue long-sleeved shirt, blue skirt...so I would assume she wore that when she ran away. She has light pink hair and blue eyes. Oh, and her name's Yancy."

Rosa's expression suddenly dropped. Did he just say 'Yancy'?

"Y-Yancy?" Rosa asked.

"Yeah, it may sound like a weird name," Curtis rubbed his head. "But she's a nice girl. Dad's just been pressuring her lately, and that's probably why she ran away. So, if you do happen to run into a girl like that, could you let me know?"

"...Of course," Rosa said. "I'll help however I can."

"Thanks," Curtis smiled, seemingly oblivious to Rosa's sudden change in expression. "Oh crap, I better get going. It was nice meeting you today, Rosa. I'll be heading home now. Goodbye!"

"Yeah...bye..." Rosa replied somewhat weakly as Curtis left the pokécenter, still lost in her thoughts.

Yancy? The Yancy that was traveling with them right now, right? The description perfectly matched the one that was following Nate like a puppy dog. And how many people are even called 'Yancy' to begin with?

So she ran away from home? Well that would explain why she seemed so desperate to come along with them at Nimbasa. But what did she do that would make her want to run away?

...No, the more important matter was at hand. She knew she ran away. Yet she's clinging onto Nate as a means of escapism. A mean to flee from her home.

Rosa gripped her hand tightly. She needed answers. She needed to know why Yancy ran away from home. And she needed to know whether or not she had any intentions of heading back.

...Maybe she should head back home. Her parents must be worried, as Curtis implied. It would be for the best if Yancy headed back home as soon as possible to her family rather than freeloading off of Nate.

Maybe it would be for the best if she would just go away and leave Nate.

At the very least, then that means all of their problems would be solved, and Nate would have no choice but to pay attention to Rosa.

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN:** Well at least Rosa's not depressed anymore. Don't worry I'm not gonna skip Bianca's and Cheren's match. I just couldn't fit them into this chapter, so I'm leaving them for next chapter. Yeah, a hella lot happened this time around. Hugh won against random hiker, Colress won against Roxie, Schwartzer won against Iris, Rosa FINALLY meets Curtis (and now that ship can commence. What was it called again? I forgot), another new character makes an appearance, Rosa receives a massive upgrade in a new party member and Nina evolving. And now that last little gem is set.

And now I can finally edit this thing:

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Nite (Pignite) / Buzz (Electabuzz) / Brav (Braviary) / Deo (Keldeo) / Zoro (Zoroark)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Arcanine) / Mandi (Mandibuzz) / Gustav (Amoonguss)

Hugh: Flygon / Servine / Magmar / Tirtouga / Heracross

Yancy: Audi (Audino) / Teddi (Ursaring) / Snor (Snorlax) / Toge (Togekiss)

Before you yell at me about Yancy's party, hey she likes Normal-types, and it's not like you've seen the bear ever since Chapter 5. Or her entire party for that matter.

And before I go, as apologies for taking so long with ALL my stories, I am actually planning to make an extra, Q & A styled chapter thing. Don't worry, this won't impede the story progression at all, I just want to try out this kind of style is all. Just send me questions about the story, anything about the characters and Pokemon alike, anything you're confused on, general questions, etc. and Nate along with another character will answer them as bluntly and as in character you can expect them to answer. You have been warned by the way.

Send the questions either through PMs, or just leave them in the reviews if you're interested (if you leave them in the reviews, let me know if you want me to include it into the Q&A). If I get enough questions (like maybe around like 5 -10), then I'll make this Q & A (which shouldn't take as much time as an actual chapter), and it'll be uploaded with the next chapter. Think of this as a bonus of sorts, and condolences for my tardiness. The window frame for submissions is a week from the most recent update date (6/6). So by the 13th. Hopefully you'll give them some interesting questions.

Welp, that's about it. Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see ya next time.


	14. Interlude: For the Curious Souls

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Interlude: For the Curious Souls**

* * *

 **AN:** So I dunno if this is happening to anyone else, but apparently Fanfiction isn't letting me upload the docx files of the chapters, which is kinda fucking annoying. Thankfully the option of copy-n-pasting the entire document still works, so until the problem is fixed, I'm gonna have to rely on that. Someone tell me if this is happening to anyone else or if the site just hates me.

I'll reply to reviews submitted from the last chapter, and any reviews that come on this update in the next chapter, seeing as this isn't an actual chapter, but the question and answers segment that I promised. If you submitted a question before the 13th, then odds are it's gonna be answered here as brutally and bluntly by Nate as possible. Also like I said, there's another guest to answer the questions with Nate.

You've been warned.

* * *

A white void.

A white void that stretches out as far as the eye can see.

No one knows exactly where this is. No one can even comprehend where this place is.

However, in the entire universe, only one person can enter this mysterious void at free will.

"-Milady, the tea is ready.-"

"Mm, thank you, Gallade."

Said person was sitting at a tea table, enjoying freshly brewed jasmine tea prepared by her shiny gallade. The woman was rather beautiful; with long navy blue hair, wearing a black coat over a dark blue shirt and a light gray skirt. A giant torterra was resting besides her peacefully as the woman petted him on the head.

She glanced over to you, noticing how you were wondering what was going on.

"Oh, hello there," the woman greeted you, setting down her tea cup. "I didn't notice you there. I'm Dawn Berlitz. May I ask what brings you to this realm?"

... ... ...

"? You wish to know where we are?" the woman asked. "Why, this is the Hall of Origin. Or at least one interpretation of it. I enjoy coming here to relax from time to time."

... ... ...?

"Why are you here?" Dawn asked. "Well, according to the author, you're here for a Q&A panel. Yes, if I do recall, someone was supposed to be accompanying me in this. He and I are to answer questions that you readers have submitted. Now, where is he? Gira! Giratina!"

From out of nowhere, a large centipede-like gray serpent with six shadowy appendages emerged from shadows, lowering itself to Dawn's level, awaiting for her command.

"Would you be so kind as to retrieve our co-host?" Dawn asked the dragon.

Giratina nodded in response, before creating a shadowy portal and shooting his appendages into it.

... ... ...

... … ...!?

After some fidgeting and rummaging, Giratina finally pulled out his appendages, revealing one Nate Warren, ensnared by said appendages against his own free will.

"GAH!? The fuck is this?!" Nate yelled, desperately trying to break free.

"Hello there," Dawn greeted Nate with a coy smile.

"Who the fuck are you?!" Nate growled, before Giratina tightened the grip he had, making Nate suffocate a little.

"Oh my, where are my manners?" Dawn giggled. "I am Dawn. And you must be Nate Warren. This story's little villainous star, teetering on the fence of morality and cruelty. Oh yes, I've heard a lot about you. You are quite interesting."

...

Nate leered at the woman, before glancing around. He noticed the giant dragon keeping him prisoner, along with Shiny Gallade and the torterra, and how they were both glaring murderously at him. Nate tried to feel himself, but found that he had no pokéballs on him. So he didn't have his party with him at the moment. Not that he could release them in his current state even if he had them on him.

"...Could you at least tell me what's going on?" Nate asked, deciding not to sound threatening and to not provoke the dragon that was keeping him on a tight grip.

"Well, the author had some...misfortunate accidents during the last few months," Dawn explained. "So, as condolences, he opened up a queue, where the viewers can submit questions about you and your little story, where you and I answer them to the best of our abilities."

"What...? Author? Viewers? What the hell're you talking about?" Nate asked, clearly confused.

...

"Oh, it's nothing you need to worry about," Dawn giggled to herself. "Simply answer the questions as honestly as you can, and you'll be free and on your way."

Nate glanced at dawn skeptically, still confused as to what the woman was talking about. But if it meant to get out of this situation...

"Fine," Nate huffed. "So, can we just start already?"

"Why of course," Dawn said as she snapped her fingers, where Shiny Gallade presented a stack of post cards. "Let's see here..."

 ** _From Anonymous Trainer: 'So Schwarz and Weiss are the good guys now?'_**

"Who the fuck is Weiss?" Nate asked. "And you mean 'Schwartzer' or whatever his name is...? Weird ass name..."

"Oh yes, you don't know because you weren't there when your bun-haired friend met up with her on her own time," Dawn said.

"Bun-haired...Rosa...?" Nate mumbled. "Oh whatever. I dunno, maybe? Pretty sure they're not evil, if my hunch is right..."

"Hm, you seem to have your own theories in mind," Dawn noted. "Although for the time being, we can confirm that those two aren't villainous, or as you can call it, 'are the good guys'. For now at least. We still don't know much about them as of now, anyways. Now then, onto the next question."

 ** _From Guest (Jun 10): If FRLG & HGSS kinda confirm, where do oras lie?_**

"Ah yes, this universe's history," Dawn giggled. "Allow me to educate all you readers about the timeline of the author's version of this parodied continuity."

Dawn snapped her fingers, where Shiny Gallade brought a chalkboard and some chalk.

"Where did he get that...?" Nate asked in utter confusion.

Dawn merely ignored Nate as she approached the board. Shiny Gallade graciously handed his trainer a piece of chalk, where Dawn began to write up a chart.

"Alright then, class is in session," Dawn said.

"A very long time ago, Arceus was bored. He wished to create a universe out of sheer whim and curiosity. And thus, he created an egg. From said egg, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina were born; each assigned to govern time, space and antimatter respectively. And many other things happened, I'm bored now...so let's just skip to when humans were more relevant."

"Wait, you're just gonna skip like, the majority of this universe's history just because you're bored?!" Nate blurted.

"But of course," Dawn scoffed. "That would be spoilers.

"Anyways, approximately 10 years ago, in the Kanto Region, three trainers, Red Ketchum, Leaf Green, and Blue Oak, were set out by Professor Oak to complete the pokédex. They explored the Kanto Region, fought Team Rocket, and eventually Red won the Pokémon League against his rival Blue, becoming the region's first ever Pokémon Master ever since Lance. History doesn't seem to pay attention to Leaf, a shame, but once Red disappeared to Mt. Silver and Blue became the champion once more, she herself went through the Pokémon League and defeated Blue, making her the current champion of Kanto, since Red ignored his responsibilities for reasons unknown. This would be the 'FRLG' story. Due to the exhibited dangers it was to put twelve year olds in the wild, the Pokémon League increased the trainer age limit, from twelve to fourteen. More focus of basic Pokémon knowledge and survival skills have been emphasized ever since.

"A year later, a trainer by the name of Brendan Maple obtained his pokédex and explored the Hoenn region, facing off against Team Magma and Team Aqua, while having to deal with the machinations of another, outside antagonizing force that threatened to destroy the world while utilizing the new 'Mega Evolutions'. Eventually Brendan became the champion of Hoenn. This would be the 'ORAS' story.

"Two years after that, in the region of Johto which neighbored Kanto, a new trainer by the name of 'Ethan Gold' got his Pokémon and pokédex and explored the Johto region in hopes of becoming a trainer of legend like Red, while facing the remnants of Team Rocket and their plans to take over both Johto and Kanto in hopes of bringing their leader back. Eventually Ethan would become the champion of Johto, before climbing up Mt. Silver to challenge Red. This would be the 'HGSS' story.

"A year after that, in the region of Sinnoh, my childhood friend Barry and I obtained our pokédexes and starter Pokémon through, questionable and idiotic means, before we ventured through Sinnoh. That is the 'Pt' story, or 'Platinum Witch'."

"Huh, doesn't that seem to be shorter than the other abridged versions?" Nate asked, pointing out how she explained the story of Sinnoh even more vaguely than the other three.

"But of course silly," Dawn giggled. "My story is still underway, and is still in the early stages at this moment in time. I wish to avoid as much spoilers as possible. Now moving on.

"Two years later, in the previously isolated region of Unova, three trainers, Hilbert Warren, Bianca Belle, and Cheren Heilian, were selected from the quaint town of Nuvema to obtain starter Pokémon and pokédexes before going through the region of Unova."

Nate perked up as she went on about the explanation of the Unovan story.

"The trio ventured throughout Unova, while encountering the mysterious trainer 'N', who is later revealed to be the king of the Pokémon liberation front, Team Plasma, spreading propaganda about how Pokémon should be liberated from humanity. Hmph, what ridiculous and foolish heresy. Pokémon and humanity have reached their prosperity side by side. To separate such a bond would mean regression; humanity and Pokémon would stop moving forward.

"Of course that would later turn out to be a flat out lie made by the true leader of Team Plasma, one Ghetsis Harmonia. He wished for N to obtain the legendary Dragon of Truth, 'Reshiram' to enforce his rule and act as a puppet leader, so that he may be the only one with power. Unfortunately for him, Hilbert turned out to have been chosen by the other legendary Dragon of Ideals, 'Zekrom'. After a grueling fight, Hilbert and Zekrom reigned victorious, went on to defeat Ghetsis with the help of his friends, and stopped Team Plasma from their heinous and idiotic plans. Of course, the boy would later go on to face Cynthia, and even myself later on. That is the 'BW' story, or 'Color of Your Soul'."

"And two years later, here we are now," Nate muttered.

"Why yes, that's correct," Dawn smiled. "Two years later, you, a girl named Rosa Echoes, and a boy named Hugh Matis, would obtain your pokédexes and starter Pokémon, before venturing off to Unova to explore the region now that it has been inhabited by Pokémon outside of Unova. Which is the 'BW2' story, or 'Pride of Your Soul'.

"And thus, ORAS lies within a year after FRLG, but at the same time two years before HGSS. I do hope that was a sufficient enough of an answer."

... ... ...

"Y'know, the guy simply asked for where this 'oras' shit was in the time line," Nate commented. "Pretty sure he didn't ask for a goddamn history lesson."

"Well yes, but where's the fun in that?" Dawn asked. "Regardless of what they all think, the author gave full control over to me and you. Thus, I can do whatever I please, including expanding on answers..."

Nate rolled his eyes, which earned him a reprimanding glare from her Pokémon.

"Now then, onto the next question," Dawn said.

 ** _From StoryLover04: My question is about Fidelity. Will there more Mega battles? Cause in XY I found that to be lacking even though it was one of the main features of the game._**

"Okay, what the hell is 'Fidelity'?" Nate asked. "And this 'XY' shit?"

...

"Oh, it would appear this reader is referring to a story that has yet to take place as of this timeline. A story of the future, as many would put it," Dawn replied. "While neither my host and I know the answer to this question, the author as prided himself in the 'expansion of canon', so I would assume if canon was lacking such a feature, then the author will expand on it. So most likely, you will get to see more 'Mega battles'."

"Who the hell are you talking to anyways?" Nate asked.

"Why, the reader of course," Dawn simply smiled as she glanced to you with her sharp platinum-colored eyes. "This Q&A is for them after all."

Nate glanced around, but saw no one.

"I don't see anyone," Nate muttered.

"Oh don't worry about it," Dawn giggled. "Now then, onto the next question."

 ** _From Unpropro: To-spike head: what are your opinions on your companions (Nate, Rosa, Yancy) and their interactions?_**

"Spike-head? Wait Hugh?" Nate asked.

"Oh my, it would seem that we have a question regarding someone not here," Dawn commented. "Gira. If you would be so kind?"

Giratina nodded in response, hurled Nate at Torterra, who opened his jaws and caught the boy in between them, before dipping his appendages back into the portal. After a short while, Giratina pulled his appendages up to reveal Hugh, now ensnared like how Nate was just a few seconds ago.

"What the hell?!" Hugh blurted, confused as to what just happened.

"Hey there buddy, welcome to the club," Nate smiled.

"Nate?! What the hell's going on?!" Hugh yelled, before noticing Dawn. "And who's the lady?"

"Hello there, I'm Dawn," she greeted Hugh. "We're currently holding a Q&A. And the current question regards your opinions on your traveling companions."

"What?" Hugh asked. "Wait I'm confused, where are we?"

"Just answer the question," Nate grumbled. "It's better than questioning all this shit."

"Okay then..." Hugh muttered. "So...Nate, Rosa and Yancy?"

"Yes, that would be the case," Dawn nodded. "And be honest. Nate won't hurt you, or else Torterra will have a snack."

Nate paled at his current situation, remembering that he was stuck between the jaws of the giant turtle.

"Well...at first I didn't really think much of Nate," Hugh shrugged. "He broke into our school a month ago or so looking for food, ended up getting caught after Rosa practically cracked his head open after he groped her–."

"Hey that was an accident!" Nate objected.

"Regardless," Hugh rolled his eyes. "Afterwards, he ended up fighting Professor Cheren for his freedom...and that battle was amazing...it opened my and Rosa's eyes to the bigger picture of things. We never knew Professor Cheren was _that_ good. And Nate still beat him. Although the professor blindsided him and forced him to go on the journey anyways."

"Oh yeah," Nate remarked, remembering that event. "I need to go kick his ass later."

"Anyways," Hugh went on. "After traveling with him...well, he's grown on me. He's offered some pretty good advice about battling, helped Rosa and I go through the harder gym battles, and well, helped me with my own personal problems...and well...now I can consider him a good friend. For better or for worse."

"Huh, that's nice," Nate muttered. "Now if you could do me a solid and get me out of here before the giant turtle over here decides that he wants a little snack..."

"Does it look like I can do anything?" Hugh retorted, glancing down to how Giratina was still holding him.

"And the other two?" Dawn asked.

"Rosa's been my childhood friend ever since we were little," Hugh explained. "We've been through thick and thin. She accepted all my good and bad traits, and I accepted all her good and bad traits."

"You make it sound like you two are lowkey dating," Nate snickered.

"No way," Hugh scoffed. "We're practically like siblings. I can't really think of her of anything outside of my best friend and little sister of sorts. And it'd be weird dating someone whom you think of as siblings."

"You don't say..." Nate said, thinking back to a certain duo in his mind.

"But regardless, no matter what, we always have each other's back," Hugh said. "And that won't change, no matter what."

"Hm, how precious," Dawn smiled. "Just like Barry and I...albeit probably much more innocent...what about this 'Yancy' person?"

"Yancy? Well I can't really say much," Hugh shrugged. "We haven't really talked too much. Don't get me wrong, she's nice and all, but she seems more interested in Nate: like _waaay_ more than the rest of us, or anyone else for that matter. Plus we don't even know why she even wanted to join our group to begin with. Well I guess when she opens up to the rest of us we can figure all that out."

"Uh huh..." Nate muttered.

"Well then, thank you for answering," Dawn smiled. "Now I do believe I wasted enough of your time."

Without any warning, Giratina dropped Hugh into the portal below him, ridding him from the scene. Torterra then hurled Nate back at Giratina, who ensnared the boy with his appendages.

"GAH!?" Nate yelped.

"Now then," Dawn said as she moved onto the next question.

 ** _From ANIMEFORDAYSXD: Are Hilbert and Hilda still alive or dead?_**

"What a creative username," Nate drawled sarcastically.

"Now, now, be nice, the reader is important after all," Dawn scolded lightly. "But care to enlighten this reader on the answer they seek?"

"...They're still alive," Nate confirmed.

"Oh? And you're sure about this?" Dawn asked, genuinely curious.

"Yeah..." Nate muttered. "They won't die so easily. They're alive. I just know it. They have to be alive..."

Nate's glare hardened as he lowered it down to the white ground. The boy was sure his elder siblings were still alive. That was one of the few hopes he clung onto. Otherwise all his efforts and dreams would be for naught.

"...The bond of siblings, the bond of family..." Dawn commented. "Truly something worthy of praise. Although whether this is the case, or something completely different, something more, _malevolent,_ is an entirely different story, now isn't it, little maverick?"

Nate glared at Dawn, who merely glanced back with her usual coy smile.

This woman is dangerous.

"Moving on," Dawn said, ignoring the tension in the void. "Oh my, this one has a lot of questions. Fortunately, they have already discussed with the author, and compromised with one question, seeing as how it would be somewhat unfair if all the questions were just his. Oh...oh my...he asked quite a few interesting ones. He inquired about your past."

"Go fuck off," Nate snarled.

"Now, now, be nice," Dawn chided, lightly smacking him on the head. "Of course, this can all be classified as 'spoilers', so there's not much of a point dwelling on them now. So let's go with this one."

 ** _From TheDarkMaster4000: Are you really prepared, especially when you seemed to have soften up so much, AND with how many strong opponents you've run into or seen in action so far?_**

"So they ask," Dawn said, glancing to the questioned.

"What kind of question is that?" Nate scoffed. "Of course I'm prepared. If I wasn't, then I wouldn't have gotten this far. Keh, stupid ass question."

"What this person seems to be inquiring is whether or not you're truly prepared for what is to come in the future," Dawn said.

"...What're you trying to say?" Nate hissed.

"This person pointed out that you've seem to have gotten soft, sympathetic," Dawn said. "Who's to say whether or not you're prepared to throw all that to the side to fulfill your ambitions? Do you think you're strong enough to overcome the odds of the future? Do you think you're strong enough to sacrifice the friends you made to accomplish your ideals?"

Nate hesitated, simply glaring at the now-smirking witch.

"Do you have what it takes to sacrifice the bonds you made, simply to satisfy your thirst for ambitions?" Dawn challenged. "Do you even have the strength to overcome the worst that the future has to offer? Or will you fold, admitting defeat to the ever-changing society after seeing it beyond the rose-tinted lens?"

"Are you willing to throw your friends into damnation because of your selfish anger?"

"...Who the hell do you think you are?" Nate snarled. "If I wasn't prepared, then WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS STUPID JOURNEY?! WHAT WOULD'VE BEEN THE POINT OF ALL THE EFFORT, ALL THE STRUGGLING I WENT THROUGH THEN?! HUH?!"

... ... ...

"You seem to be angry," Dawn mused.

"Of course I'm angry!" Nate kept on his angry rant. "Because you, and these other bastards or whatever are questioning my own goals! I know what I'm doing! I know what's at stakes here! And I know what I need to do! This is my life! My decision! Not yours! So just PISS OFF AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"My, all they asked was whether or not you were prepared for all this," Dawn said. "They could be concerned for your wellbeing is all."

"...They don't know me," Nate hissed. "So fuck off. It's not their problem."

Dawn's smile never faltered.

Nate was truly an amusing, interesting boy, just like his brother. So full of fervent spirit. And so adorably naïve to the world.

For this boy refused to seek any help. For this boy refused to accept others. Whether or not he would admit it, however, the icy cold barrier that surrounded his own heart was slowly melting.

Well, that's how she interpreted it all, before turning to you.

"Well, that's all for today," Dawn said. "Terribly sorry for my co-host's outburst, but apparently you went into sensitive topics."

"Tch!" Nate grumbled. "...Fine, I'm sorry. Now don't pry into my life again."

"Good boy," Dawn smirked. "Unfortunately that's all the questions that were given to us. Hopefully our answers were sufficient enough to quell your thirst of curiosity."

"Tch, still don't know who the fuck you're talking to," Nate pointed out. "There's no one here besides you, me, and all your Pokémon that wanna kill me."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Dawn said, giving you a wink. "Now then. I do believe I've wasted enough of your time."

Dawn sat up from her seat, before approaching Nate.

"What's your game?" Nate asked.

"Oh nothing," Dawn said. "Just a veteran in the game, enjoying her time messing with their junior. Now then, I do believe it is time for you to return to your world."

Before Nate could retort, Giratina had already dropped him into the portal that was looming under him, letting the shadowy portal consume Nate, dragging him into it, before closing up.

"With that out of the way," Dawn said, before turning to you. "Thank you for viewing this special interlude from 'Pride of Your Soul'. The actual content will resume shortly after this. Hopefully you enjoyed this social project of sorts. Simply answering questions like in the usual author's notes would be boring, so I took the liberty to make this somewhat more interesting. Well, to me at least.

"If you enjoyed this little experiment, then perhaps the author will do another one in the future. Who knows?

"Perhaps you're wondering whether or not this will affect the story in any way. Sadly no, this is all outside of canon. This place does not exist. And while you may remember all that has happened here, no one else will.

"And before you leave, make sure you give my past self some love. I do know the story doesn't update that often due to circumstances in the author's life, but if you could, that would be truly appreciated. The Platinum Witch needs as much support as she can, after all. The world, or should I say Sinnoh, is a very unforgiving place, after all.

...

"What's that? You wish to know why I know you're there, but Nate didn't? Well, that's a simple fact, really..."

Dawn stared straight into your eyes with her own, the platinum gleam staring straight into your soul. A reserved, yet mischievous, almost malevolent smile plastered onto her face.

"I am one hell of a witch, after all. Until next time."

* * *

"Huh?!"

Nate shot up from where he was sleeping, outside on a tree next to the hotel they were staying at.

"The fuck?" Nate grumbled, before looking up to see the moon. "It's still night..."

He glanced around, rubbing his head. He couldn't remember why, but he had the strangest dream. A dream that he, much to his chagrin, couldn't remember.

"It probably wasn't important," Nate muttered to himself, before getting comfortable on the large branch he was sleeping on. "It was probably just a weird dream, after all. Nothing important."

And with that, the boy fell back to sleep, wondering why he was rudely awakened from his slumber in the first place.

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN:** And there's the Q&A I promised. Once I got enough questions, making this took a fairly short amount of time, so that's a good thing. Only took like five days due to personal life issues and the aforementioned glitch-bug-whatever that Fanfiction's experiencing at this moment.

If any of you are familiar with my previous story, Color of Your Soul, then you'd know that Dawn appears as a bonus boss there, and if you're familiar with Platinum Witch, then you would know that she has supernatural powers that may or may not be involved with Giratina. And as such, since CoYS and PoYS takes place after Platinum Witch chronologically, Dawn has reached to a point where she can have tea at God's domain, and proceed to ignore the fourth wall.

And speaking of Platinum Witch, that's due to be updated next, so look forward to that if you're interested.

Hope you enjoyed it. If you did, let me know, and I might consider doing this again in the future.

Welp, that's about it. Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see ya next time.


	15. 14: The Difference in Power

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 14: The Difference in Power**

* * *

 **AN:** I'm alive! I swear I'm not dead!

Yeah...I owe you all one hell of an apology. I mean this time I really have no excuses except for college being a massive dick like always. And then I got distracted by Persona 5, then the Sun and Moon demo, then BlazBlue Central Fiction (I still need to write that one fic about it btw), then the SuMo leaks happened, then college began to be an even bigger dick, and Sun and Moon is gonna release in three days so either everyone's gonna be busy for like a month or two, or this community's gonna get flooded by Sun and Moon fanfics within a week or so. So basically procrastination and writer's block got the best of me.

By the way I'm gonna write a Sun and Moon story myself, but after I finish Fidelity (XY) for, plot reasons.

So yeah, Sun and Moon's gonna be out in like three days, so fucking hype! And don't expect to hear from me for like one to two months. But then again i'm pretty sure you're all used to that by now, hehe...I'm so sorry.

But let bygones be bygones, I finally update this thing right before SuMo releases and takes over my life, so there's a plus.

Okay so 5 months and two chapters previous is enough to generate reviews up the butt, so let's reply to them so I don't have to deal with them in the end:

 **Pale1357:** I mean I guess you can get that vibe.

 **TheDarkMaster4000:** Well I'm glad you liked how I did the Q&A. Yeah poor Nate, but then again, he's kind of an asshole. I am planning on making a story for ORAS, but not now. there's too much stuff on my plate to try and make another story. Fidelity kinda suffered cuz I tried to do too much at once, so I don't want to repeat that. And yeah, Leaf deserves some love.

Oh shit, thanks for the spellcheck. If I hadn't changed it by now, then I'll go fix it.

 **kanrisha-san:** Thanks! Oh Rosa, what are we gonna do with you tho...

 **xQEAx:** Thanks.

 **BreadNotDead:** Okay so I wasn't the only one who experienced that. Thought I was finally going insane. And glad to see that you and a bunch of others like how I designed Dawn.

 **StoryLover04:** No, Dawn doesn't require a sacrifice. Otherwise things would get way more messier than they need to be.

 **flashyhero:** Well actually I do plan to make a story for FRLG and HGSS, but not for a while. Need to finish what I already started first.

 **Unpropro:** Thanks!

 **Guest (Jun 22):** A lot. A lot happened.

 **Eris:** Oh my, that's a lot of errors. Thanks for pointing them out. I'll go fix them assuming they haven't been fixed yet. Yeah I figured I should finally give Rosa some limelight and give her a buff. Also no, giving her an amoonguss wasn't because Whi-Two had one, but purely for a team composition standpoint. Her team centered around bulky attackers, so having a bulky Grass-type like Amoonguss fitted well, especially with the utility it provides. But I guess you can think that though.

Well let's just see how things unfold with our favorite little tyrant and the two fangirls. Oh yeah and Red has a role in here. You'll find out later.

And referring to your latest review, glad you like the Q&A. And it's alright, no worries! And maybe I'll make another Q&A in the future, since everyone seemed to like the first one, so you can ask then!

 **I** **M Poik:** Oh well I'm sorry, but I'm glad you liked the Q&A at least. No it's not canon, but Dawn kinda reached a level where she can bend the rules in her favor, so make of that what you will. At least Nate and Hugh don't remember anything.

 **Guest (Jun 24):** Unfortunately I'm not too interested in the Pokemon Ranger series, and am too uninformed of the series to try and attempt to write a story about it. Sorry!

 **ARSLOTHES:** I mean it's an option, but let's just see what happens.

 **BlackKuro23:** Lol, yeah you're right.

 **Guest (Jul 15):** Heeey, you spotted something important. And thanks :)

 **BLACK-BIRD76:** Thanks! Glad you like the story! And kudos for noticing a key plot point regarding Schwartzer...don't tell anyone though.

 **Guest (Aug 27):** Yep.

 **Kirsch:** Oh it's no worries. People have been starting to theorize who Schwartzer is anyways, so it's all fun WMG until I reveal it properly in the story. No harm done.

 **Tg10110:** Not dead yet. I'm still kicking, just struggling.

Okay now done with that. Onto the actual content!

* * *

"Chandelure, Energy Ball!" Bianca yelled.

Chandelure swiftly avoided the opposing seismitoad's Hydro Pump, before launching an Energy Ball at the toad, blasting it with the Grass-type attack.

" _And the seismitoad takes a hefty attack from Bianca's Chandelure!"_ the announcer commentated. _"Can Ace Trainer Ryan pull this one back?!"_

The ace trainer grimaced as his seismitoad got back up. Chandelure, meanwhile, floated back to Bianca, giggling mischievously as if to mock him. Ryan thought he had this one in the bag. This 'Bianca' chick, while certainly hot, didn't seem to look like too much of a challenge. She looked ditzy at best. When they both revealed their Pokémon, she had the Fire-type Chandelure, while he revealed his Water/Ground-type Seismitoad. That alone brought him a major advantage. This should've been a relatively easy win.

Or at least it should've, if Seismitoad actually managed to _hit_ the damn thing.

Her chandelure was surprisingly evasive, dodging all of Seismitoad's attacks with ease, before shooting the vibration Pokémon down with a Shadow Ball or an Energy Ball. It was a miracle that Seismitoad was even lasting this long. It was through all of this where Ryan knew that he had sorely underestimated this otherwise seemingly harmless woman. But that wouldn't mean he would give up.

"Seismitoad! We're not done yet! Earth Power!" Ryan yelled.

Seismitoad roared as it summoned several pillars made from the earth, before they all began to converge at Chandelure.

"Overheat!"

Before the Earth Power could converge, Chandelure created a giant fire ball and shot it above himself, blasting through the Ground-type attack with ease. Seismitoad had to brace itself for the resulted explosion and force.

"Damn...!" Ryan muttered as he endured the force as well. "But Overheat greatly reduces the user's special attack...so Chandelure should be much weaker now..."

"Energy Ball!"

From the smoke, an Energy Ball shot straight through it, nailing the Water-type and blasting him off the arena.

"Seismitoad!" Ryan cried, shocked that the Energy Ball still had that much force.

The smoke cleared, where Chandelure floated around. Bianca merely smiled as Ryna glanced over to see that Seismitoad was knocked out.

* * *

" _And the Energy Ball takes it!"_ the announcer yelled. _"Ace Trainer Ryan's Seismitoad goes down, and Bianca Belle is the winner and will proceed to the quarterfinals!"_

"Damn..." Ryan gaped.

"That was a nice battle," Bianca said. "Your seismitoad's pretty well trained."

"Thanks..." Ryan muttered. "How was your chandelure able to hit that hard even after using Overheat? Its Special Attack should've been weakened."

"White Herb," Bianca replied as Chandelure floated next to Bianca. "Chandelure consumed it right after using Overheat."

"Of course...!" Ryan exclaimed. "White Herb restores any stat that's been weakened..."

"Uh huh," Bianca smiled. "Well, I better get going. Don't wanna hold the other battles up. Let's fight again next time!"

Bianca recalled Chandelure and left the arena, before returning to the backroom, where Cheren was waiting for her with a water bottle in hand.

"Nice job out there," Cheren said as he tossed the bottle to her which she caught.

"Thanks," Bianca said as she opened it and drank from the bottle. "So, you're next?"

"Yeah," Cheren nodded as he stretched out his arms. "Finally too. I was getting pretty bored having to wait for everyone else to battle."

"Right, you're the last match of the day, right?" Bianca asked.

"At this rate, I might as well be the last for all the days of this tournament," Cheren sighed. "Alas, that's what happens when you get the last block in the bracket."

" _Let's begin the last match of the day!"_ the announcer said. _"Will the next competitors please head to the arena!?"_

"Looks like it's time," Cheren said as he prepared to leave.

"Good luck out there, Cheren," Bianca smiled.

"Of course," Cheren smiled back as he headed off.

Unbeknownst to the duo, Schwartzer had been watching them from his own corner with interest. The black-cladded man snorted amusedly, before returning his gaze to the monitor.

* * *

" _And now, the last battle of the day shall commence!"_ the announcer boomed. _"Will both competitors step up to the arena!?"_

At the cue, Cheren, along with his opponent, Clay, stepped up onto the arena, facing against each other.

"Well, well, it's been a while since we could rumble on the arena like this," Clay smirked as he took out a pokéball.

"...Indeed..." Cheren nodded, revealing his own pokéball.

"I do hope ya haven't been slackin' since the last time we fought," Clay said.

"I'll have you know I have been honing my skills ever since I became a gym leader...!" Cheren shot back.

" _Trainers, get your Pokémon ready...!_

 _And BEGIN!"_

The two gym leaders both released their Pokémon at the same time upon the signal. From Cheren's side, a large blue jellyfish-like Pokémon floated onto the field, while from Clay's side, his excadrill was summoned to fight.

"Oh, well it's been a while since I've seen that feller," Clay said. "Alright, let's see if ya improved since then!"

"Jellicent, Will-o-Wisp!" Cheren swiftly commanded.

Jellicent created several blue wisps of fire and launched them at Excadrill, who narrowly dodged the fires.

"Alrighty then, Drill Run!" Clay yelled.

"Scald!"

Excadrill brought his claws together and shot at Jellicent like a rushing drill, where Jellicent shot scalding water in retaliation. The water hit Excadrill head on, but it wasn't enough to stop the attack, as Excadrill got to drill into the jellyfish. Jellicent was pushed back by the drill, but Excadrill fell to the ground, wincing in pain as he glanced at a burn mark on his arm.

"Tch, already got burned, huh," Clay clicked his teeth. "Excadrill! Show'em some guts! Swords Dance!"

Growling in retaliation against Jellicent, Excadrill summoned several swords that circled around him, before they were all disintegrated and were absorbed by the mole, boosting his attack power.

"Scald while he's setting up!" Cheren yelled.

Jellicent shot scalding water at the incoming Excadrill, but the mole this time dug into the ground to avoid the attack.

"Tch..." Cheren clicked his tongue as Jellicent darted his eyes around, trying to see where Excadrill would emerge. "Recover."

The jellyfish nodded and closed his eyes, allowing his body to heal itself. Fortunately, he was able to heal enough to withstand the incoming Excadrill who shot out from below. Jellicent was able to wrap his tentacles around Excadrill during the exchange, keeping ahold of him.

"Now, Scald!" Cheren yelled.

As Excadrill tried to escape, Jellicent blasted the Ground-type with a zero-range Scald attack, blasting his face with the burning water attack. Once Jellicent was done, he threw Excadrill down to the ground. As Jellicent floated back down, Excadrill struggled to get back up, panting heavily.

"He should be weakened enough now..." Cheren muttered, narrowing his eyes.

"Well now, this ain't good," Clay muttered. "One last shot! We need an opening! Bulldoze!"

"Stop it with Hex!" Cheren yelled.

As Excadrill was about to slam his claws into the ground, Jellicent's eyes glowed a vibrant purple and red and a shadowy aura exerted from him. Excadrill suddenly stopped, as a similar shadowy aura surrounded him. The mole began to gag and choke, falling to the ground in pain and agony.

"Excadrill!" Clay cried.

"And this is checkmate," Cheren said coolly. "Scald!"

Jellicent released the Hex and shot one more Scald at Excadrill, who had no time to recover and got hit by the Water-type attack once more. Unable to withstand all the punishment, Excadrill promptly fainted.

* * *

" _WOW! What a swift and dominant match!"_ the announcer yelled. _"With that, Cheren Heilian wins the match and will be the last qualifier to the quarterfinals!"_

Cheren sighed in relief as Jellicent floated back to his trainer.

"You did well, Jellicent," Cheren congratulated him as he recalled the jellyfish. "Take a nice, long rest."

"Ah dang it," Clay muttered before he went over to Excadrill. "Ya did well out there, ole buddy. Take a rest."

As Clay recalled the mole, Cheren walked up to the fellow gym leader, offering a hand.

"That was good match, Clay," Cheren smiled. "As expected from you."

"Hehe, ya got stronger," Clay smirked, returning the handshake. "That's more like it. I would've been on yer case if ya hadn't improved in the two years you've became a gym leader."

"That would've been bad," Cheren chuckled uneasily.

"But damn, to be knocked out of my own tournament," Clay muttered. "Ah well! It's fine! Being able to see all this new and powerful blood is just as good!"

" _And with this, all the second rounds have finished! Here is the bracket for the quarterfinals!_

 _Nate vs Hugh Matis_

 _Ace Trainer Alex vs Colress_

 _Schwartzer vs Bianca Belle_

 _Cheren Heilian vs Veteran Trainer Lloyd_

 _And with that, this concludes Day 1 of the 3_ _rd_ _Driftveil Tournament! Thank you all for coming! Make sure to come back tomorrow, 9 AM sharp, where we'll wrap up the rest of these soon-to-be exciting battles!_

 _Make sure you all stay safe when leaving and have a good night!"_

* * *

With the first day over and dusk falling, everyone left the building, all headed back to where they were staying for the night. Cheren yawned as he stretched his arms, glancing around until he spotted his blone childhood friend running up to him.

"Cheren!" Bianca called out as she caught up to him.

"Good work," Cheren said. "C'mon, let's go to the hotel we booked for the night."

"Right," Bianca said. "Oh! How bout we go get something to eat first? I heard Driftveil has some REALLY good seafood restaurants!"

"Hm, I don't see why not," Cheren nodded. "I'm feeling famished anyways."

Bianca smiled, blushing slightly, before noticing Nate and the other younger competitors grouped up together. "Hey, isn't that Nate?"

"Hm?" Cheren asked, before noticing them as well. "Yeah it is. Wait, where's Rosa?"

Curious, Cheren and Bianca decided to walk up to them, where they noticed Nate grumpily shoving his Xtransceiver back into his bag.

"Is everything alright?" Cheren asked Nate.

"Ah?" Nate grumbled, glancing to Cheren. "...Rosa disappeared during the middle of the competition."

"What?!" Bianca gasped, where Cheren looked shocked as well. "I-Is she alright?!"

"Yeah, she's fine," Nate replied dryly. "Tch, troublesome woman..."

"You all have a place to stay for the night?" Cheren asked.

"We're crashing with Dragon Girl and Punk Girl," Nate shrugged. "They apparently booked two rooms."

"There's plenty of room anyways," Iris shrugged. "Rosa, Roxie, Yancy and I can crash in one room, and the boys can crash in the other room."

"Sounds like a plan, I suppose," Cheren said. "Well, be careful you all."

Nate grumbled under his breath as he made his leave, with the others following after him. Cheren sighed, before chuckling at the sight of Nate.

"...He's changed," Cheren said. "He's different from the thief that tried to steal food from the Aspertia Academy."

"Yeah," Bianca smiled as well. "It's nice to see that he's making friends. He's starting to resemble Hilbert a lot more now."

"Yeah..." Cheren said, although his smile faltered slightly. "Whether that's a good thing, or a bad thing however...that's still hard to tell..."

In the midst of seeing the kids off, the two veteran trainers failed to notice the man cladded in black take his leave, after having watched the whole debacle.

* * *

Rosa nervously glanced to her Xtransceiver to note the time, before looking up to the hotel she was waiting in front of to make sure she was at the right place.

"He said the hotel next to the pokécenter, right?" Rosa mumbled as she glanced to Nina, who stood next to her.

Nina nodded in response, which gave the trainer some relief. She really didn't want to have got the wrong hotel. Who knows what would happen if that were the case.

Fortunately for her, all her worries were dealt with once she saw a rather annoyed Nate approach her with the others.

"I want answers, Bunhead," Nate muttered as he approached her, clearly not in a good mood with her. "So where've you been this whole time?"

"Well, I wanted to get some fresh air, and then things happened..." Rosa mumbled, twiddling her thumbs together.

"Uh huh..." Nate muttered, clearly not amused, before he saw Nina. "...When the fuck did you evolve?"

"-Oh! This nice lady helped us catch an amoonguss, and then she gave Rosa a thingy that made me evolve when I touched it!-" Nina barked happily.

"...Uh huh..." Nate said, before turning back to Rosa. "You were talking to strangers now? I thought you knew better than to take candy from random strangers, they could be degenerates for all you know."

"I didn't take any candy," Rosa rolled her eyes. "You probably got the gist of it from Nina. I ended up catching a new member and evolved her. That's it."

Nate raised an eyebrow at the girl, still somewhat skeptical, but decided to leave it at that. There was no point in bugging her about it any further.

"...So you caught an amoonguss, huh?" Nate asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Rosa replied as she released her new member. "This is Gustav!"

Everyone else gathered around the mushroom, who glanced back at all of them.

"An amoonguss, huh..." Hugh said. "That's interesting. Figured you'd go for something more offensive...I don't know something like a deerling."

"Hmph, well excuse me for wanting something more defensive," Rosa huffed.

"Well it's pretty smart of you," Nate said. "Getting something that's pretty bulky, knows Spore...does this have Regenerator?"

"His hidden ability? Yeah," Rosa confirmed.

"Well then, you have a pretty good tank on your team then," Nate said. "That's actually pretty smart of you. Props to that."

"Eh?" Rosa asked, blushing lightly, before smiling in delight. "Th-thanks..."

"Wow, that's pretty cool," Yancy commented, kneeling down to pet Gustav.

Gustav blushed slightly, somewhat embarrassed, but clearly enjoying the attention he was getting. Rosa's smile instantly fell upon the sight.

"We should head into the hotel," Rosa said bluntly, recalling Gustav abruptly.

"Eh...?" Yancy blurted, surprised at Rosa suddenly recalling Gustav so suddenly, before said bunhead headed into the hotel first.

"What's with her?" Roxie asked.

"Wait up! You don't know where the rooms are!" Iris panicked as she gave chase after her.

As Roxie followed Iris in, Nate and Hugh glanced at each other.

"...You got any idea?" Nate asked, questioning Rosa's sudden change in tone.

"...Dunno," Hugh muttered, shaking his head. "...She has been acting strange lately though..."

"Uh...did I do something...?" Yancy asked timidly.

"I don't think so," Nate said. "...Eh, don't worry about it. I'm sure it'll blow over."

"I hope so..." Yancy mumbled, since she was sharing a room with Rosa.

"C'mon, let's go in and get something to eat," Nate said. "I'm starving."

"After doing nothing and eating all those burgers and fries after your round?" Hugh asked amusingly.

"Hey, that was lunch," Nate shot back. "I need actual dinner. And this is probably one of the few times dinner isn't a fucking sandwich or fried basculin. Aah, rich people food..."

"You eat that way too much dude," Hugh muttered as they walked into the hotel.

"Hey, it tastes good," Nate defended his appetite. "That, berries and stolen food got me through 10 years."

As the two boys chatted with each other, Yancy followed behind Nate, still worried about Rosa.

* * *

"OOOH AN ACTUAL BED," Nate moaned ecstatically as he let himself crash onto one of the beds in the hotel room. "AAAH my body feels better already."

"Y'know, you could've always used one of the beds whenever we stopped at a center," Hugh pointed out as he placed his belongings next to the other bed.

"There's only two and you and Bunhead keep taking them," Nate retorted. "Besides those are cheap. This is what you call a true bed."

"Your standards are pretty low, not gonna lie."

"Can it, City Boy."

Hugh shook his head as he examined his team in preparation for tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

He had to fight Nate for tomorrow's first quarterfinals match. Now that he thought about it, he never battled Nate yet before. Well if you count that one time Vibrava fought Luca just to help him improve on close quarters combat, but that didn't really count, considering Luca was holding back. Other than that, he never properly fought Nate. It did not help that Nate never spars with him or Rosa, usually going to himself and having his own Pokémon spar each other. Hugh only had what limited information there was solely from observing Nate's team.

His team was extremely diverse (if you ignored the fact that he had three Fighting-types), suitable for any kind of opponent and generally had the answer to any kind of situation. In regards to the members themselves, they generally tend to be very aggressive in nature; always making the first move and always the one attacking. Playing aggressively against them would only lead to them forcing you onto their pace, while playing defensively will only lead to them ruthlessly attacking away at you, either breaking your defenses brutally or forcing you to go on the offense.

While Nite and Buzz were two Hugh knew quite well and was confident enough that they can be dealt with, Brav, and especially Luca were two that he feared would be the end of him. Both are veterans that share the closest bonds with Nate, meaning that they knew how he thought, so between the braviary and the lucario, Nate could pull off some outright treacherous feats. Their match against that one rich boy was proof enough. And Hugh didn't even know what to expect from Deo and Zoro; the former a mythical Pokémon and the latter a former Team Plasma member.

"What's wrong with you?" Nate asked Hugh, snapping him out of his train of thought. The blunette looked at Nate, who snickered at him. "What? Coming up with some surefire way to beat me tomorrow?"

"Can't help it, considering you're my opponent," Hugh muttered.

"Hm...I guess," Nate shrugged. "Well, don't worry about it for now."

Hugh sometimes envied Nate. The trainer could be so damn lax whenever he can, while Hugh himself was fretting over what to do against him and how to prepare against him. He didn't have to worry about the battle tomorrow.

"Y'know, we've never actually properly battled before, have we?" Nate asked Hugh.

"Huh? Well yeah," Hugh replied.

"Then I guess there's something to look forward to then," Nate smirked. "Knowing you, you'd definitely put up a good fight."

Hugh glanced at Nate, somewhat surprised that the boy actually considered him a worthy adversary. While touching, this meant that Hugh needed to give it his all. It was the least he could do considering how much Nate did for him.

...At this point, it wouldn't matter too much what Hugh planned out. Nate would surely adapt to it and counter it in his own way. Hugh needed to see that coming and adapt to it himself.

"...Right," Hugh replied, feeling more at ease than before. "...I'm gonna go get a drink. You want anything?"

"Oh! Whatever that brown syrup-like stuff was, get me that!" Nate replied rather enthusiastically.

"Cola? Sure," Hugh chuckled as he left the room.

Once the boy was alone, Nate found himself deep in thought as he blankly stared at the white ceiling.

"Tomorrow...huh..." Nate muttered to himself, contemplating on the possibilities that could happen tomorrow.

* * *

"Tomorrow...huh..." Yancy mumbled in the hotel room she was in right now.

"What's up with you?" Roxie asked. "You thinking about your crush of yours?"

"Huh?! No!" Yancy blurted startled by Roxie appearing behind her. "...Wait...what do you mean...?"

"You know who I'm talking about," Roxie said with an exasperated look. "Nate."

Yancy's face instantly blushed, as Roxie smirked at her friend.

"What? You have a crush on Nate?" Iris asked from behind Roxie.

"I-I-Well..." Yancy stuttered.

"Oh please it's so obvious, only a brick wouldn't be able to see it," Roxie scoffed. "You've been love-struck since day one."

Yancy mumbled under her breath as she hid her flushed expression under her hat as Roxie continued to tease her about it. Rosa, on the other hand, ignored their shenanigans with a scowl as she was examining her team.

" _Well, to tell you the truth, I'm looking for someone. My sister. She ran away from home, and I'm kinda looking for her. Our dad's really angry and worried that she left, and so am I, so I was wondering if you do manage to find her, you could let me know."_

" _As for descriptions...well, whenever she goes out, she's usually wearing a white and hot pink panama, white short-sleeved shirt over blue long-sleeved shirt, blue skirt...so I would assume she wore that when she ran away. She has light pink hair and blue eyes. Oh, and her name's Yancy."_

The bunhead girl recalled Curtis telling her that a few hours ago. Yancy was his sister that ran away from home. That would explain why Yancy was so desperate to join up with them back at Nimbasa. But why though? What reason did she have to run away with them?

...She needed to know.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" Rosa asked Yancy as she walked up to her. "In private?"

"Huh? O-Okay..." Yancy mumbled as Rosa led her out of the room.

"Huh? What do you think is up with them?" Iris asked Roxie.

"Hell if I knew," Roxie shrugged.

* * *

Outside of the room, Rosa led Yancy to the vending machines, a good distance away from the room.

"Alright, there shouldn't be any problem with eavesdropping now..." Rosa muttered.

"Uh...is...everything alright?" Yancy asked.

Rosa glanced back at Yancy, before crossing her arms.

"I met Curtis today," Rosa said, earning a shocked look from the pinkette.

"Eh..." Yancy blurted.

"He said he was looking for his sister who ran away from home," Rosa continued, eyeing Yancy suspiciously. "He also said that Yancy isn't exactly a common name."

Yancy didn't respond, opting to glance away from Rosa's harsh glare instead out of shame and fear.

"Look, I'm not trying to scare you or anything like that," Rosa said. "I just want to know why you ran away from home."

"Well...uh..." Yancy mumbled uncomfortably. "I don't really feel comfortable talking about it..."

' _Considering it'll blow my cover, then it's probably not the best idea,'_ Yancy thought.

Of course, Rosa didn't know that, so she assumed the pinkette simply wished to not talk about it.

"...Well, fine I guess," Rosa muttered. "If you have your reasons, then...fine...sorry about that."

"I-It's alright," Yancy tried to say, but she couldn't help but say it uncomfortably.

"I won't pry it out of you if you don't wanna talk about it," Rosa sighed.

"O-Okay...thanks..." Yancy said uncomfortably. "C-C'mon, let's head back..."

"Right," Rosa muttered as Yancy went on ahead. Once the girl was out of earshot, Rosa slammed her fist against the wall in frustration. "Damn it!"

The bunhead growled in frustration as she leered at the door to their room.

"...This isn't over," Rosa grumbled.

Meanwhile Yancy rushed past Roxie and Iris, scavenging for her Xtransceiver.

"Yancy? Is everything alright?" Roxie asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah everything's alright," Yancy told Roxie. "Don't worry about it..."

Roxie didn't look exactly convinced, but she let it go for now, leaving Yancy to herself as she found her Xtransceiver. She scrolled through the contacts list, before spotting 'Curtis' on it.

"Curtis..." Yancy muttered under her breath. "So...does that mean Dad cares...or...?"

Yancy sighed before she put the thing away.

"What do I do...?" Yancy mumbled to herself helplessly. "I don't want to go back there, but..."

As Yancy looked conflicted, she failed to notice Roxie giving her an examining gaze, almost leer.

* * *

The next day came, and the Driftveil Pokémon World Tournament stadium was roaring with life once more.

" _Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome back to the 3_ _rd_ _Driftveil Tournament!"_ the announcer boombed amidst the roaring audience. _"Now let's start with our quarterfinals! Remember, from here on out, the remainder of the matches will be 3 on 3 battles. The competitors can choose three Pokémon from their current party. Whoever has all three of their Pokémon knocked out will lose. Will the first two trainers step up to the field?!"_

Upon the calling, Hugh and Nate emerged from the opposing sides of the arena, stepping up onto the field opposite of each other.

" _From the blue side, overcoming type disadvantages left and right and never giving up! We have the up-and-coming young tactical genius, Hugh Matis!"_

"The hell..." Hugh muttered, embarrassed by his title call as the audience applauded loudly. "Well this is what I get for beating type disadvantages I suppose..."

" _And from the red side, making an EXPLOSIVE name for himself from the get-go! Perhaps the most brutal of the competitors here, we have the Mad Dog of the Tournament, Nate!"_

"Yeah...that sounds about right," Nate nodded as the crowd cheered for him, albeit there was a detectable amount of fear within the cheers. "As much as I care for at least."

The boy glanced over to Hugh, before smirking and tossing up a pokéball in his hand.

"Now then," Nate grinned. "We've been traveling together for a month now...You should've gotten at least strong enough to keep up with me."

"I guess we'll have to find out, huh," Hugh managed to smirk.

"Keh! That's more like it!" Nate flashed a feral smirk. "Come at me, Hugh!"

"You don't have to tell me twice, Nate!" Hugh declared.

" _This outta be a match to remember!"_ the announcer boomed.

" _Trainers, get your Pokémon ready...!_

 _And BEGIN!"_

* * *

Both sides released their Pokémon, with Nite coming out from Nate's side, and Tirtouga came out from Hugh's side.

"...Well at least the type matchup is even," Hugh said.

"-ALRIGHT! Let's do this!-" Nite roared.

"-Someone's fired up,-" Tirtouga deadpanned.

"Aqua Jet!" Hugh yelled out, making the first move.

"Dodge and retaliate with Focus Blast!" Nate yelled.

Tirtouga surrounded himself with water, before shooting at Nite like a bullet of water. Nite was able to dodge the attack, before creating an orb of energy and shooting it at the turtle. The orb managed to hit Tirtouga, breaking him out of the Aqua Jet.

"-Agh!-" Tirtouga grunted as he fell to the ground.

"Tirtouga!" Hugh yelled. "...When did Nite learn Focus Blast...?"

"Flamethrower!"

Nite didn't relent, spewing a stream of intense flames from his nose at Tirtouge, who had to recede into his shell to avoid taking damage.

"He learned Flamethrower too?" Hugh commented. "...Looks like Nate decided to make a last-minute moveset change...spin around and use Brine from the shell!"

Tirtouga did as commanded, and began to spin rapidly from the safety of his shell, shooting out salty water from all holes. Nite immediately stopped attacking, before jumping back to avoid the Brine attack.

"Now, Stone Edge!"

Tirtouga stopped the Brine attack, before emerging from his shell and summoning several jagged rocks around him and shooting them at Nite.

"Focus Blast!" Nate yelled.

Nite stepped back and shot a Focus Blast at the incoming Stone Edge. The two attacks collided, causing smoke to cover a part of the field, covering the fire pig.

"-Tch!-" the turtle clicked his tongue as he tried to spot Nite.

"What's he gonna do now...?" Hugh asked himself. "Nate clearly changed his moveset..."

When the smoke cleared, to their shock, Nite was gone, but a hole was clearly visible where the Fire-type once stood.

" _Oh my! It would appear that Pignite used the smoke as cover to set up its next move!"_ the announcer gasped.

"Dig?!" Hugh gasped. "But...Nite shouldn't be able to learn that..."

"Shouldn't you be focusing on the battle in front of you?!" Nate yelled, catching Hugh's attention.

Before Tirtouga could react, Nite shot out from right under him, nailing a mean uppercut from right under Tirtouga's head.

"-Ggh?!-" Tirtouga gritted as he tried to withstand the blow.

Tirtouga landed back onto the field, more worn out, while Nite landed back on his feet, sporting a rather vicious smirk.

" _Nate's Pignite is on a rampage!"_ the announcer yelled.

"The hell's going on...?" Hugh muttered. "Pignite shouldn't be able to learn Dig...but then..."

Hugh shot a glare at Nite, who was currently snickering at him. Hugh then noted the feral smirk Nite had. While the Fire-type was rather boisterous and excited, he never sported a smirk that seemed so malevolent. Nite seemed to be acting differently too; usually he would constantly try to close the gap between him and his opponent and duke it out. Even with the apparently new moveset, it was as if Nite completely dropped all sense of physical combat for ranged combat, which was uncharacteristic for him.

It was almost as if Nite was acting like a different Pokémon completely.

"Wait...don't tell me–!" Hugh gasped, making a huge realization.

"You're too slow!" Nate yelled as Nite charged for Tirtouga; a dark orb created between his two front hooves while a crimson aura was surging around him.

Tirtouga reacted quickly and shot a Brine at Nite. The Fire-type took the Water-type attack without flinching, before slamming the orb of darkness in front of Tirtouga, releasing a huge crimson aura that engulfed Tirtouga, blinding Hugh from the sight. The blue-haired boy had to cover his face to withstand the force of the attack. Once the aura cleared up, Tirtouga was found knocked out, while in place of Nite was now Zoro instead.

" _What's this?! It would appear that Nate's Pignite was in fact a zoroark in disguise!"_ the announcer gasped.

"...No wonder 'Nite' could use Dig..." Hugh muttered. "You hadn't changed his moveset at all. It was just Zoro disguised as Nite using his 'Illusions' ability."

"Now what'cha gonna do?" Nate asked as Zoro sniggered at Hugh.

Clicking his tongue, Hugh sent out Heracross, hoping for a comeback. Zoro narrowed his eyes a little, but took a fighting stance regardless.

"Flamethrower!" Nate immediately yelled.

"Megahorn!"

Zoro spewed a Flamethrower at Heracross, who flew above it and charged at Zoro; horn poised to strike him down. The fox ducked underneath, letting Heracross fly above him, but the beetle fighter quickly turned back and charged at Zoro. Hastily, Zoro dug back into the ground to avoid the pursuit.

"Into the hole and drag him out!" Hugh yelled.

"Oh no..." Nate muttered.

Heracross nodded and made a nosedive for the hole, crashing into it.

" _What's this?!"_ the announcer gasped.

The ground began to rumble slightly, before the tremor became more violent. Heracross then suddenly shot out from the arena, dragging Zoro out with him, who had the full brunt of the attack jabbed into his gut.

"-GAH?!-" Zoro gagged.

"Flamethrower!"

Zoro managed to grab Heracross, before shooting a Flamethrower directly at him, covering the beetle in intense flames. Heracross cried in pain, before hastily flinging Zoro back onto the ground, before falling down himself. Heracross managed to get back up, albeit heavily burned from the attack, while Zoro laid in front of him, unable to battle.

" _What a dynamic chain of events!"_ the announcer exclaimed. _"Hugh's Heracross went for a bold move to drag Nate's Zoroark out, but didn't go out without a fight!"_

"Eh, figured that would happen," Nate said as he recalled Zoro. "Nice job, Zoro. Now then..."

Nate immediately swapped out Zoro for the real Nite, who immediately charged for Heracross.

"And here's the real one..." Hugh muttered. "Brick Break!"

"Flame Charge!"

Heracross lunged at Nite to smash his head, but the Fire-type zip around and tackled Heracross while being ignited on fire. Heracross cringed in pain as Nite knocked him down, while Nite jumped back to safety.

"Damn it, Rock Tomb!"

"Rock Smash into Flame Charge!"

Heracross slammed his claw into the ground, where several boulders shot out from the ground and rained down upon Nite. In response, Nite smashed through the rocks, before jumping back into the air.

"Stop him!" Hugh hastily cried.

Heracross quickly charged into the air to intercept Nite, but the pig was already descending upon him as a burning fireball. Heracross tried to stop him by charging at him, but the pig managed to shift himself above the horn, before ramming into Heracross, sending both him and the beetle into the ground, smashing Heracross against it. Nite got up, while Heracross was knocked out, unable to withstand the Fire-type attacks anymore.

" _And as quickly as Heracross took out Zoroark, Pignite avenged his fallen comrade and swiftly took out Heracross!"_ the announcer yelled. _"This is looking to be a speedy battle! Can Trainer Hugh make a comeback?!"_

Hugh gritted his teeth. He fell right into Nate's plan. The trainer lured Hugh into a bad position using Zoro's Illusions to fool him into thinking Hugh had the matchup, and then proceeded to answer accordingly as the blunette was forced to try and bring himself back into a good position. Nate had grabbed the momentum right before the first move, and by the time Hugh realized it, Nate was already a step ahead of him.

' _Damn it! I need to get the momentum back on my side no matter what!'_ Hugh thought as he released Flygon; the dragon roaring as he rose into the air.

" _And from Hugh's side, Flygon will be his last Pokémon!"_ the announcer declared. _"Will it be enough to turn this match around?!"_

"Oh...?" Nate smirked as Nite pounded his hooves aggressively.

"Stone Edge!"

"In the air!" Nate yelled.

Flygon summoned several sharp rocks before shooting them at Nite, but the pig jumped into the air, avoiding the rocks altogether. Nite then bulleted towards Flygon and tackled him, but Flygon was able to grab him before Nite could do anything.

"Dragon Claw!"

Flygon hurled Nite back into the air, before flying after him with azure claws. Nite tried to meet it with Rock Smash, but Flygon was too fast, and was able to nail Nite in the gut with Dragon Claw. Nite gagged as Flygon hurled Nite back to the ground.

"Before he can do anything else, Bulldoze to finish him off!" Hugh yelled.

"Tch! Rock Tomb!" Nate growled.

Flygon nosedived to the arena, while Nite struggled to get back up. Right as Flygon got back and was about to slam his tail onto the arena once more, Nite hastily punched the ground, summoning boulders from it and shooting them at Flygon. The boulders hit Flygon, but it wasn't enough to stop him from using Bulldoze, causing another earthquake on the arena and catching Nite in it. Once the tremor died down, Nite fell on his face, unconscious from the attack.

" _And Pignite is down!"_ the announcer yelled. _"What will Trainer Nate do now in response!? Will Hugh be able to bring this match back or does Nate have an answer to stop Hugh's chance at a comeback?!"_

"Let's see now..." Nate mused as he recalled Nite. "Good job."

As Nate decided on what Pokémon to go with next, Hugh was tense. The fact that Nate doesn't seem to be fazed by the turn of events must mean that he does have an answer to Flygon, which honestly doesn't surprise him. Would he go Brav to match Flygon in an aerial battle? Or would he just go Luca to finish the battle? Flygon was the best answer to either of them, anyways, so Hugh could only that it was one of them, which were the more logical choices in this matchup.

Nate glanced at Hugh, before smirking and tossing another pokéball into the air. Out from it, Deo appeared onto the field, landing on the ground and glaring at Flygon.

" _What is this!?"_ the announcer gasped. _"Nate has revealed the mythical Pokémon Keldeo as his last fighter!"_

' _He chose now to use Deo?'_ Hugh thought. "Be careful, Deo's a strong opponent. Fly back and see what he does."

Flygon nodded as he flew back to create distance between them and then proceeded to see what Deo does. To Flygon's confusion, Deo simply glared at Flygon as the dragon flew around.

" _Oh? It would seem that Keldeo isn't making a move,"_ the announcer said. _"Could this be some kind of plan?"_

"Wait, why won't he...?" Hugh asked. He thought that Deo would at least shoot a Hydro Pump or Scald by now.

Hugh glanced at the horse with a confused look, but then noticed Nate's trademark malevolent smirk and confident gaze. The boy didn't look troubled at all. As if, he was comfortable and confident in this match.

Wait. Flygon's moveset was Bulldoze, Dragon Claw, Stone Edge and Flamethrower.

Stone Edge and Flamethrower would do nothing to the Water/Fighting-type. So either Bulldoze and Dragon Claw would be the right choice. But then Flygon would have to get close–.

Hugh widened his eyes. So that was Nate's game. Force Flygon to come in close and challenge him to close quarters. A matchup that Deo is much more proficient at than Flygon. If Flygon tried to fight Deo up close, then Deo would gain the upper hand.

"...Damn it...I have no other choice..." Hugh muttered. "Dragon Claw!"

Flygon nodded, before descending back to the ground and charging at Deo with azure claws ready to strike.

"Sacred Sword!"

Deo's horn turned into a large blade of light and parried off all of Flygon's Dragon Claws with ease, before striking at him with his sword several times. Deo slammed the Sacred Sword across Flygon's chest, sending him flying into the wall.

"FLYGON!" Hugh cried out.

Flygon threw up a little as he fell out of the wall, glaring at Deo, who simply glared back unfazed.

"Damn it..." Hugh muttered. "Try Bulldoze!"

"Stop him!" Nate ordered.

Flygon tried to slam his tail to the ground to cause a tremor, but Deo immediately rushed up to Flygon and jabbed his sword at Flygon, stopping him from the attack, before flinging Flygon into the air.

"Hydro Pump!"

Deo jumped after Flygon before the dragon could recover and slammed his hooves onto him, before shooting violent torrents of water at Flygon. Flygon slammed onto the ground, before the Hydro Pump blasted him further. Once the torrents ended, Deo landed back onto the field, while Flygon was completely drenched and knocked out, unable to battle any further.

* * *

" _AAND IT'S OVER!"_ the announcer declared. _"After an intense and close battle, Nate takes it over Hugh! He will be moving onto the semifinals!"_

The crowd roared out in approval as the battle ended. Hugh sighed as he went over to Flygon and knelt down to comfort the dragon.

"...Looks like that's it," Hugh sighed. "You did well, Flygon. We still got a lot of work cut out for us."

Flygon nodded, smiling weakly as Hugh recalled Flygon.

"Yo," Nate said as he went over to them. "Good battle."

"Nate..." Hugh said.

"You did better than I thought, not gonna lie," Nate said, before turning to Deo. "Yo good shit, Deo."

"-It was nothing,-" Deo shrugged.

Nate nodded as he recalled Deo, before turning to Hugh.

"Yeah, you're strong," Nate said. "You were pretty close in taking the battle back. If Flygon hadn't gotten hit by Rock Tomb, then it could've kept up with Deo."

"...So that's why you had Nite shoot it at Flygon last minute," Hugh said, remembering Nite's last attack before Flygon finished him off. "To lower Flygon's speed and make him more manageable."

"Pretty much," Nate said, before extending his hand to him. "Alright then, let's get out of here."

Hugh glanced at the hand with a somewhat surprised look, before smirking and accepting it, letting Nate help him stand back up.

" _And what a great act of sportsmanship from Trainer Nate!"_ the announcer exclaimed. _"Let's give a round of applause for these two!"_

The crowd did just that and applauded for the two trainers as they headed back to the backroom. Everyone else was there to greet them back.

"Welcome back," Yancy said happily.

"Yo," Nate said. "So who's next?"

"Colress," Roxie told Nate. "He's up against some ace trainer, I don't really care. And then it's Bianca versus that Schwartzer guy, and Cheren."

"Colress..." Nate muttered as he glanced to the screen. "...Oh you better win...we still have a score to settle..."

"Nate...?" Yancy asked, looking a little concerned.

"Huh? Ah, don't worry about it," Nate assured the idol. "Just a little rivalry is all."

"If you say so..." Yancy mumbled.

As Nate snickered at Yancy, the boy didn't notice Rosa directing a disapproving glare at the duo.

"What's up with you?" Hugh asked, noticing Rosa glaring.

"...Nothing," Rosa muttered.

Nate noticed this time, glancing over to Rosa and Hugh.

"You alright?" Nate asked Rosa.

"Huh?! No I'm fine..." Rosa stuttered as her cheeks became somewhat red.

"You sure?" Nate asked, somewhat concerned. "You still thinking about what happened yesterday?"

"I'm fine, you idiot," Rosa grumbled, hiding her red cheeks.

"If you say so," Nate muttered. "Yo Hugh, let's go heal our mons."

"You're not gonna watch Colress's battle?" Hugh asked as he noted how the announcer was calling for Colress and his opponent.

"There's no way he's gonna lose," Nate said as he headed out the room. "I'll look over the match later."

Hugh shrugged, but nodded regardless before following Nate out of the room.

"Uh...Rosa, are you alright?" Yancy asked Rosa.

Rosa leered at Yancy, before muttering 'I'm fine', and then walking away. Yancy looked a bit disheartened, but Roxie watched the exchange with a narrowed gaze.

"So that's it, huh..." Roxie mumbled to herself.

* * *

By the time Nate and Hugh got back, they looked at the screen to see that Colress was already taking on his opponent's last Pokémon. Magnezone effortlessly deflected the Dark Pulse aimed at it from the opposing liepard, before blasting the leopard down with a Thunderbolt, instantly frying the feline down and rendering it unable to battle.

" _AAAAND THAT TAKES IT!"_ the announcer yelled. _"Colress delivers a clean and swift sweep with his magnezone alone, and will be moving onto the semifinals!"_

"Told you," Nate said. "And from the looks of it, there wasn't anything to look into. He just swept with his magnezone."

Hugh simply sighed, before checking the tournament bracket.

"Huh, the next match is Bianca against that Schwartzer guy," Hugh noted.

Nate perked up at the mention of the next match as he looked up to the screen. Already, they were preparing for the next battle as the contestants for the next battle were already heading up to the stage.

"Oh, it would seem that I made it in time," Colress said as he entered the room.

"Damn it, why couldn't you use anything else other than Magnezone?" Nate grumbled.

"Because my opponent was too weak to warrant a switch," Colress shrugged in response.

"Savage..." Roxie muttered.

" _Now then! The third semi-finals match will begin!"_ the announcer declared.

" _From the blue side, she she may look adorable to many, but she packs a mean punch in her battling! The ace trainer cutie from Nuvema, we have Bianca Belle!"_

The crowd erupted into cheers and was notably louder and more enthusiastic than during Hugh's and Nate's intros as Bianca stepped up to the stage, blushing slightly from embarrassment.

"Who writes these intros again?" Nate asked.

"Hell if I knew," Hugh shrugged.

" _And from the red side, perhaps the most dominant combatant so far! Sweeping the competition with just his haxorus, we have the black knight of the tournament, Schwartzer!"_

From the opposite side, the black-cladded man stepped up onto the field as the crowd roared in cheers (not as loud as Bianca's notably), looking imposing compared to the blonde trainer.

"And here's the big one," Rosa muttered as she stepped up to look at the screen.

"The hell were you doing?" Nate asked.

"Nothing..." Rosa mumbled, her cheeks still red.

Nate arched his eyebrow in confusion as Yancy timidly walked up next to him. Rosa instantly glared at the pinkette, making her falter slightly.

"...You two get into a fight or something?" Nate asked the two girls.

"N-No, it's nothing to worry about," Yancy mumbled.

"Yeah, nothing..." Rosa muttered.

Nate narrowed his eyes at them, but decided to leave it be for now, before turning to the watch the battle.

* * *

"I'd never thought I'd run into you in bracket," Bianca said as she readied her Pokémon. "Kinda nervous."

"From the look of that smile on your face, I'd assume the opposite," Schwartzer said, noting the smile that was indeed on her face.

"Teehee, I guess I'm also excited to be able to fight someone as strong as you," Bianca giggled. "It's not everyday such a chance happens. Your shiny haxorus also intrigues me too."

"I see then," Schwartzer chuckled. "Then I better meet your expectations."

" _Trainers, get your Pokémon ready...!_

 _And BEGIN!"_

Both trainers revealed their Pokémon; Bianca with a mienshao, while Schwartzer goes with his shiny haxorus.

"Dragon Dance," Schwartzer immediately commanded.

"While he's setting up, Aura Sphere!" Bianca yelled.

As Haxorus began to pace in a circling motion, Mienshao immediately shot a blue orb at him, blasting the dragon in the face. Shiny Haxorus, meanwhile, didn't seemed fazed by it, and finished his dance, boosting his attack and speed.

"Drain Punch!" Bianca yelled, unfaltering.

"Dual Chop," Schwartzer reacted.

Mienshao lunged for Shiny Haxorus, while the twin blades of Shiny Haxorus turned into blue scythe-like blades. Mienshao shot his fist at Shiny Haxorus, but the dragon met it with one of his blades, parrying the punch and then striking Mienshao with the other blade, slashing his face in return. As Mienshao jumped back in response, Shiny Haxorus lunged straight for Mienshao, before kicking Mienshao straight in the gut.

"-Guah!-" Mienshao gagged as Shiny Haxorus kicked him straight into the wall behind his trainer.

"Mienshao!" Bianca cried out.

"Swords Dance."

Not even wasting a moment, Schwartzer already made his next move, as Shiny Haxorus sclosed his eyes to summon several swords to surround him. As Mienshao got back up, the swords dissipated one by one into red mist that flowed into Shiny Haxorus to power him up.

"Rock Smash."

"Kh! Hidden Power!"

As Haxorus ran up to Mienshao, the ermine quickly released a wave of energy at the dragon, blasting him with it. Shiny Haxorus actually flinched from the attack, but nonetheless powered through and slammed his tail into Mienshao's gut, knocking him out.

" _And Mienshao is down! Schwartzer's Haxorus once again shows a dominant performance!"_ the announcer boomed.

"Hidden Power...and it actually affected Haxorus..." Schwartzer muttered. "Ice...?"

"You did well, Mienshao," Bianca comforted him as she recalled him back to his pokéball. "Take a nice rest."

Bianca put away Mienshao's pokéball and took out another one, replacing Mienshao with Stoutland.

" _And Bianca's second Pokémon will be Stoutland!"_ the announcer declared.

"Intimidate, huh..." Schwartzer mused, noticing how Shiny Haxorus slightly shuddered while Stoutland made a rather intimidating face.

"Ice Fang!"

Stoutland pounced at Shiny Haxorus, his fangs coated in a sheet of ice in the process. Shiny Haxorus simply jumped back, letting Stouland land on the spot where he previously was.

"Rock Smash."

Shiny Haxorus swung his tail at Stouland, who caught it with the Ice Fang. Shiny Haxorus growled in pain as Stoutland sunk his fangs into the tail, slowly freezing it.

"Interesting..." Schwartzer muttered. "Slam him onto the ground!"

Shiny Haxorus managed to withstand the pain, before flinging Stoutland up and smashing him onto the floor while the dog was hanging onto his tail. Stoutland ended up letting go of Shiny Haxorus's tail, which allowed the dragon to kick him away, making distance.

"Swords Dance!"

As Stoutland winced in pain, Shiny Haxorus summoned another set of swords to power him up.

"Stop him! Return!"

Stoutland growled and charged at Shiny Haxorus as he finished his dance. The dog crashed into Shiny Haxorus, pushing him a fair distance, but Shiny Haxorus was able to withstand it. Shiny Haxorus growled, before smashing his head into Stoutland, slamming him into the ground hard enough to make a small crater. The head-butt was enough to take out Stoutland, who laid on the ground unconscious.

" _And what a brutal way to take out another one of Bianca's Pokémon!"_ the announcer gasped. _"Schwartzer's Haxorus has taken out two out of three of Bianca's Pokémon! Can her last Pokémon save her in such a tight spot, or will Haxorus go for the clean sweep!?"_

"His attack must be really high after all those boosts...well, it's my fault for letting it happen," Bianca muttered as she recalled Stoutland. "Thanks Stoutland. You deserve a good rest."

Bianca took out another pokéball, before releasing a bulky, bipedal boar-like Pokémon with burning flames covering the front of its neck and shoulders.

" _And Bianca's final Pokémon is Emboar!"_ the announcer yelled. _"Can this fighting expert be the key to save Bianca?!"_

"Let's find out then," Schwartzer said. "Dual Chop!"

"Meet it with Hammer Arm!" Bianca yelled.

Shiny Haxorus brandished his two blue scythe blades and charged at Emboar, immediately braced himself for the attack and met the blades with his arms. The boar tried to push Shiny Haxorus back, but the dragon had become far too strong to lose to him. Emboar refused to give in, however, and kept pushing forward to stop the dragon.

"Even with all the attack boosts, he's able to keep Haxorus in a standstill..." Schwartzer commented. "...Not bad. But..."

Shiny Haxorus glared at Emboar, before growling and stomped the ground for footing. Shiny Haxorus then proceeded to fling his head up, pushing Emboar away.

"Not good enough..."

Shiny Haxorus then proceeded to lift Emboar with his head, before hurling him into the air. Before Emboar could react, Shiny Haxorus had already jumped towards him.

"Hammer Arm!"

As Shiny Haxorus got above Emboar, he swung his tail downwards onto the Fire-type, but Emboar was able to smash his fist into the dragon's face, before the dragon slammed Emboar down to the ground. Shiny Haxorus landed on the ground, as the smoke cleared to reveal Emboar, unconscious on the field. Shiny Haxorus snorted, before proceeding to fall onto one of his knees panting.

* * *

" _AAAAND IT'S OVER! After a brutal sweep, Haxorus takes it!"_ the announcer yelled. _"Schwartzer will be moving onto the semifinals!"_

As the crowd applauded, Schwartzer walked over to Shiny Haxorus.

"Nice job," Schwartzer congratulated his partner. "That was pretty close."

Shiny Haxorus nodded as his trainer recalled him to his pokéball. Schwartzer then walked up to Bianca, who was tending to Emboar.

"You did great out there," Bianca comforted her starter. "Take a nice rest."

Emboar managed to crack a smile, before Bianca recalled him into his pokéball. The black-cladded man extended a hand to Bianca.

"That was a good battle," Schwartzer complimented. "You almost managed to faint Haxorus there."

"I guess..." Bianca giggled before accepting the hand. "Although I shouldn't have let him set up like that."

"Still, it was a good battle nonetheless," Schwartzer said. "You were the closest to have beaten Haxorus. Had Emboar landed one more hit..."

"He would've fainted," Bianca finished. "...But then he'd have to face the rest of your party."

"At the very least you beat Haxorus," Schwartzer shrugged. "But still, good game. You are indeed strong."

"Thanks," Bianca smiled. "You're really strong too. I hope we can battle again."

"I do hope so too," Schwartzer nodded. "Now then. We should probably leave so that they can get the rest of the matches going."

"Right," Bianca agreed. "Cheren outta be starting to get a bit impatient."

The girl bowed to Schwartzer out of respect, before heading back to the entrance from her side. Schwartzer, nodding, turned around to leave the arena from his side.

"...You've grown strong ever since then...Bianca..." Schwartzer muttered as he left.

* * *

"Stone Edge," Cheren commanded, as Gigalith shot more jagged rocks at the opposing bouffalant.

Sometime after Bianca's match with Schwartzer, Cheren was immediately ushered into his quarterfinals match. While he was somewhat sad that Bianca didn't win, he was still proud of her for her performance nonetheless. She essentially retired from being a trainer, yet she was able to reach top eight in a tournament that was decently stacked. It was expected for someone of her caliber, but it was still impressive. Her loss being against the enigmatic Schwartzer was perfectly understandable and nothing to be ashamed of, given that no one knows what his other Pokémon was since he won all his matches using only his haxorus.

"Bouffalant, stay strong!" Veteran Trainer Lloyd yelled. "Superpower!"

Ah, the veteran trainer was starting to get impatient. Good.

The buffalo charged at Gigalith, rushing into to defeat out the rock goliath. Gigalith glanced at Cheren, waiting for his trainer's instructions.

"If he wants to defeat you so badly, why don't we give him his wish then?" Cheren asked.

Gigalith nodded, understanding the implications of his trainer's advice. Gigalith glanced back to Bouffalant, who smashed into Gigalith, and lifted him up with his horns.

"Now, slam him down into the ground!" Lloyd commanded.

"Explosion," Cheren commanded calmly.

As Bouffalant was about to move, Gigalith's body began to glow, before the rock behemoth suddenly exploded, blasting the buffalo with an explosion he had no hopes of escaping.

"Wha–Bouffalant!" Lloyd cried.

Once the smoke cleared from the sudden explosion, everyone spotted both Gigalith and Bouffalant, lying on the ground out cold.

" _AAAND IT'S OVER!"_ the announcer yelled as the crowd cheered. _"What an explosive way to finish the last quarterfinals! With one Pokémon left, Cheren takes the match over Lloyd, and will move onto the semifinals!"_

Cheren sighed in relief, before he went over to Gigalith.

"Nice job," Cheren smiled as he took out Gigalith's pokéball and recalled him.

"That was a smart move, boy," Lloyd congratulated as he approached him. "Making Bouffalant come to you, and finishing him off with Explosion, where Bouffalant couldn't escape or defend himself."

"I guess," Cheren replied. "I'm not a teacher for nothing after all."

"Hm, impressive. I bet your students are blessed to have such a competent and powerful trainer as their teacher," the old man smirked. "Great battle! I hope we can battle again!"

"Count on it," Cheren smiled as the two battlers shook on it.

" _And with this, the quarterfinals have all finished!"_ the announcer announced as both competitors left. _"Here are the semifinal matches:_

 _Nate vs Colress_

 _Schwartzer vs Cheren Heilían_

 _The semifinals will begin after a short intermission. Don't go anywhere folks! These will be sure to be some intense and exciting battle!"_

* * *

"Well that's to be expected," Nate shrugged as he took a bite out of his burger, having watched Cheren's battle.

"So you know what you're gonna do against Colress?" Hugh asked.

"At this point, all we've seen is that he has a magnezone, a beheeyem, and a metagross," Nate said. "At this point I just pray he doesn't have anything stupid in the back and go with my strongest members."

"I guess..." Hugh shrugged. "Although I don't expect it to go well..."

"Hey, have a little faith," Nate jabbed at Hugh playfully.

"I'm being realistic," Hugh retorted. "We barely beat him when it was 3 vs 1, and that was before Iris intervened."

"I did what now?" Iris asked, popping up from behind.

"Nothing important, don't worry about it," Hugh said.

"Okay~" Iris said cheerfully as she walked away.

"I mean there's no use worrying about it now," Nate said.

"If you say so..." Hugh said.

"Why do you doubt him now?" Rosa asked as she and Yancy walked up to the duo. "He's already proven to somehow muscle his way past anything at this point. I'm sure he'll be fine."

"His opponent now is a different story," Hugh interjected. "He's one of Plasma's top dogs. I'm telling him to be careful."

"Nate's strong," Rosa argued. "He'll definitely pull through."

" _And the semifinals will begin shortly! Will Nate and Colress proceed onto the arena?"_

"And there's my cue," Nate said as he got up. "Alright, time to get this over with."

"G-Good luck," Yancy said.

"Will do," Nate replied as he left the room.

"...Y'know, while we're at it, why are you suddenly acting so clingy to him all of a sudden?" Hugh asked, turning to Rosa.

"What? What're you talking about?" Rosa asked.

"Don't play dumb," Hugh retorted. "You've been acting a lot closer to him all of a sudden. You haven't been acting like your usual cocky self."

"Maybe I changed then," Rosa huffed, looking the other way.

"...Are you still thinking about that loss against that rich idiot?" Hugh asked. "If so, then don't let it get to you–."

"No. That's not it," Rosa shot back somewhat hastily.

Hugh arched an eyebrow at his childhood friend, and was about to ask some more but the announcer interrupted them.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, the first semifinal match is about to begin!"_

Rosa walked away to watch the match, where everyone else gathered around the screen. Hugh glanced at Yancy, before walking up to her.

"You have any idea why she's been acting strangely all of a sudden?" Hugh asked. "You...have been acting a bit uncomfortable around her recently. Is everything alright?"

"N-No everything's alright," Yancy assured him. "Thanks for the concern though, Hugh."

"...If you say so," Hugh sighed. "Just remember, you can talk to us if you need to."

"Right, thanks," Yancy nodded as Hugh walked away to watch the match. The pinkette glanced down to the ground, still conflicted about her current conundrum. Sighing, she walked up to the screen to watch Nate's battle. There wasn't much she could do about it. Maybe she could talk to her about it, and figure out what she wants.

For now, though, she might as well put it aside. She should cheer Nate on.

Maybe watching him win will put her nerves at ease.

* * *

"Well now," Nate muttered as he cracked his knuckles. "Figured it'd be a matter of time until I run into you in this tourney."

"It would seem so," Colress said, pushing his glasses up. "I do hope you gotten stronger since the last time we fought."

"Keh! Of course," Nate drawled. "I wouldn't slack off training if it meant I could beat you down to the ground."

"Oh, how violent," Colress chuckled. "But...if that will bring out the best potential out of your Pokémon, then by all means, do as you please."

"Hmph," Nate huffed. "Alright then, you better be careful with what you wish for..."

" _And the first semifinals match will begin!_

 _Trainers, get your Pokémon ready...!_

 _And BEGIN!"_

Nate and Colress both revealed their first Pokémon at the same time. From Nate's side, Luca landed onto the field, growling at Colress. From Colress's side, Magnezone floated onto the field.

"Oh a rematch," Nate mused. "Bone Rush!"

Without hesitation, Luca created her blue staff between her paws, before grabbing it and lunging at Magnezone.

"Pull her in," Colress commanded.

As Luca got close, Magnezone lifted up one of its magnet arms. Luca suddenly felt all control of her body being lost, before being forcibly pulled in towards Magnezone, being stuck on to its magnet.

"Thunder Wave."

Magnezone emitted a powerful electric shock, zapping Luca who was stuck onto it.

"-AAAAAGH!-" Luca cried out in pain.

Once it was done, Magnezone then aimed Luca at the ground, before blasting her back by repelling her away using the magnetism that it used to pull her in, lodging her into the ground.

"What's the matter? This is just like last time," Colress chided. "Magnezone, Hidden Power."

Magnezone aimed its magnets at Luca, charging energy into them as the dog struggled to get back up.

"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" Nate asked. "Aura Sphere!"

Luca managed to shove something into her mouth and ate it, where suddenly the paralysis was cured.

"What?!" Colress exclaimed.

Luca then quickly charged an Aura Sphere, before shoving it into Magnezone, letting the blue orb explode in front of it, blasting the magnet Pokémon away.

"Now, Bone Rush!" Nate yelled.

"Tch, Hidden Power!" Colress yelled back.

Luca proceeded to strike at Magnezone, who in return shot the Hidden Power it had charged up. The attack blasted Luca, but she was strong enough to take it, before slamming the Bone Rush straight onto Magnezone's main eye. Magnezone cried in pain as it flew away, trying to tend to its damaged eye.

"Finish it off!" Nate growled.

"Volt Switch!" Colress commanded.

As Luca went for the kill, Magnezone shot jolts of electricity at Luca, who dispelled it with her staff. Before Luca could land the blow, however, Magnezone was covered in electricity, before being promptly swapped out. In its place, Metagross had been summoned, taking the Bone Rush from Luca much more comfortably than Magnezone did. Nate clicked his tongue as he beckoned Luca to fall back.

"So you had a berry," Colress analyzed. "For just in case of Thunder Wave, I presume?"

"Was it that easy to figure out?" Nate asked.

"I knew you'd prepare a countermeasure for cases like that," Colress said. "Especially considering our last encounter."

"Well isn't that flattering?!" Nate growled as he swapped Luca out for Nite. "Flame Charge!"

Nite gritted his teeth and lunged at Metagross while being covered in intense flames.

"Going to match Metagross's speed, eh?" Colress asked. "Agility!"

Metagross suddenly vanished before Nite could reach it. Nite then suddenly jumped to the side, avoiding Metagross slamming its arm onto the pig.

"Don't stop!" Nate yelled.

And thus began the speed match between Nite and Metagross, the former doing his best to reach the metal titan, while the latter was doing its best to play keep-away with its pursuer.

" _A speed battle between two unlikely brutes!"_ the announcer yelled. _"Who will win the competition?! Folks, this is just starting to get ecstatic!"_

"Zen Headbutt!"

"Tch, Heat Crash!"

Metagross suddenly turned around from its chase and lunged for Nite while being covered in a blue energy. Nite in response jumped into the air, avoiding the attack, before crash landing into Metagross as a burning fireball. Despite the damage and super effective hit, Metagross was able to withstand it, before flinging Nite off of it.

"Heat Crash, while a strong move, does damage proportionate to the user's weight versus the target's weight," Colress said. "If your target is heavier than you, then surely it wouldn't do too much damage in spite of type effectiveness."

"Flame Charge!" Nate growled, not listening to Colress's ramblings.

Nite refused to give up, proceeding to charge at Metagross once more.

"Earthquake."

Right as Nite was about to touch Metagross, the metallic spider swiftly moved to the side, before slamming its arm into the ground, causing an earthquake that slammed into Nite.

"-AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!?-" Nite cried out in pain.

"NITE!" Nate cried out in genuine concern.

Once the earthquake ceased, Nite had fallen to the ground, battered and unconscious from the powerful Ground-type attack.

" _AND PIGNITE GOES DOWN!"_ the announcer yelled. _"After that intense speed match, Metagross finds an opening and finishes off Pignite with a bang! And that was just the FIRST Pokémon!"_

Nate gritted his teeth as he recalled Nite, before replacing him with Deo.

" _And Nate's third Pokemon will be the mythical Keldeo!"_ the announcer reported. _"Nate has shown his hand, but what about Colress? Does he have something up his sleeve?"_

"Oh, so you did catch Keldeo," Colress commented. "What a fascinating creature. I've seen his performance against your friend Hugh. Simply wonderful, and effective, might I add."

"Hydro Pump!" Nate growled, not in the mood to go along with Colress's charades.

Deo immediately shot violent torrents of water from his hooves at Metagross, but the Steel-type quickly avoided it as expected.

"...Spin around using Scald!" Nate yelled as he ducked down.

Nodding, Deo dropped onto his back, before proceeding to spin around aggressively, shooting Scald from all four of his hooves and covering the entire arena. Colress had to duck as well, but Metagross had no such luck, hastily trying to avoid all the attacks, before eventually being shot down by a stray Scald. The steel spider crashed onto the ground, finding itself burned from the attack.

"Oh..." Colress mused.

"Sacred Sword!"

Before Metagross could get back up, Deo's horn turned into a bright blade of light, before the colt jumped up and smashed it into Metagross's head. The metallic spider was crushed into the ground from the brute strength of the attack, which was enough to knock it out.

" _And Metagross goes down after a swift and overwhelming counterstrike from Nate's Keldeo!"_ the announcer yelled.

"Impressive..." Colress said as he swapped Metagross out for Magnezone. "Thunder Wave."

"Sacred Sword!"

Magnezone shot a jolt of electricity at Deo, but the colt was fast enough to avoid it, before slamming his sword down upon the magnet, swiftly taking it out.

" _And just as quickly, Magnezone, after taking such a beating from Nate's Lucario, goes down as well!"_ the announcer yelled. _"Can Colress's last Pokémon save him from this predicament!?"_

Nate and Deo glared at Colress, waiting for him to send out his last Pokémon, before the scientist began to chuckle.

"The hell? Did you finally lose it?" Nate snarled.

"I figured you would put up a good challenge, but this is beyond my expectations," Colress grinned as he recalled Magnezone. "Indeed, you. You're such a trainer I've been waiting for. Now is finally the time for me to test you out."

"What...?" Nate asked, before his instincts suddenly flared up to life, giving him a foreboding sensation.

"Now! Come forth, MKI!" Colress boomed as he revealed his last Pokémon.

Landing in front of Colress was a bipedal, insectoid Pokémon with a metal body and a saucer-shaped head with large red eyes. The insectoid let out a primal roar, shaking the entire arena.

" _Wha...what is this?!"_ the announcer gasped. _"I've never even seen such a Pokémon before?! Could this be the discovery of a brand new Pokémon?!"_

"Genesect..." Nate mouthed, his eyes widened in shock., before he gritted his teeth. "So you've still had it this whole time..."

"-You…!-" Deo said, before the colt began to snarl viciously. "-You're the thing that separated me from my masters two years ago!-"

"-Target identified...-" Genesect, or MKI said in a cold monotone. "-Scanning...scanning...scanning complete. Target identified: Dex Number 647: Keldeo. Target data acquired. Enhancing appropriate offense attributes.-"

MKI proceeded to emit a red spark around him in response, as Deo took a fighting stance.

"-Nate! He's mine!-" Deo declared. "-I'm gonna turn that thing into scrap metal!-"

"He's all yours," Nate snarled. "Hydro Pump!"

"Thunderbolt," Colress simply commanded in response.

"Deo shot more violent Hydro Pumps at MKI, who proceeded to shot an intense bolt of electricity at the incoming attack. The Thunderbolt easily ripped through the Hydro Pump, before electrocuting Deo.

"-GAAAAAAAAAH!?-" Deo screamed in pain.

"DEO!" Nate cried out.

Deo fell onto his knees after being electrocuted, before falling onto his side, unable to fight any further.

" _Incredible!"_ the announcer gasped. _"With just one Thunderbolt, the new mystery Pokémon was able to take out Keldeo who hadn't taken a single hit ever since he got here!"_

"...Enhancing appropriate offense attributes...?" Nate mouthed, before gritting his teeth. "Download..."

"Now then," Colress beckoned as MKI readjusted itself. "More! Show me more! Surely you aren't done yet!"

Nate growled in anger as he swapped out Deo for Luca. "Break that machine!"

Luca nodded as she prepped a Bone Rush staff and charged at MKI.

"Flamethrower!"

MKI leaned down, before the cannon on its back spewed hot flames at Luca. The Fighting-type immediately stopped in her tracks before shooting an Aura Sphere to block it. Much to her surprise, the Aura Sphere wasn't enough to completely stop it, and was forced to jump back to avoid the attack.

"Full Charge!" Nate yelled.

"-Try this!-" Luca yelled as she charged an Aura Sphere to the absolute max, before firing it straight at MKI.

"Iron Head!"

MKI suddenly folded its limbs and connected its head to the cannon on its back, assuming into a flying saucer-like form, before jetting towards Luca. MKI ripped through the fully charged Aura Sphere, before slamming straight into Luca.

"-AUGH!-" Luca yelped in pain as she was blown back from the attack.

"Luca!" Nate yelled out in concern. _'Am...am I losing...?'_

"Flamethrower!"

MKI didn't stop the assault, transforming back into its previous form, and shooting another Flamethrower at Luca, who was forced to run to the side to avoid it. MKI didn't stop there, and relentlessly kept shooting more Flamethrowers at Luca, who desperately avoided them like the plague.

"What kind to type is this thing...?" Nate asked. "It took Aura Sphere with ease...so is it not weak to Fighting? But it looks Steel...but it knows Flamethrower..."

"Ice Beam!"

MKI kept shooting Flamethrowers, before suddenly changing it up and shooting a beam of ice at where Luca was going to run to, catching her foot and freezing her to the ground.

"-Wha–?!-" Luca yelped, before finding her foot frozen to the ground.

"It knows Ice Beam?!" Nate gasped. "What kind of monster is this thing?!"

Luca tried to break out of the ice, but to no avail with her strength alone. MKI began to walk up to Luca, which sent alarms to the canine and prompted her to frantically slam her staff into the ice in a desperate attempt to break the ice.

"Looks like this is checkmate," Colress declared as MKI aimed its cannon at Luca. "Flamethrower."

"LUCA!" Nate screamed.

Luca snapped out of her frenzied desperation to find MKI up close to her. In one last desperation, she slammed her staff at MKI, but the insectoid didn't even finch, before proceeding to blast a Flamethrower right in her face. Nate couldn't find any words to form in his mouth as the Flamethrower lit up the arena. Once MKI finished its attack, Luca was completely charred and burned, with no traces of the ice at all, before falling down, completely unconscious.

" _AAAAAND IT'S OVER!"_ the announcer boomed as the crowd roared in cheers. _"After a reverse sweep with this new Pokemon taking out both Keldeo and Lucario, Colress takes it over Nate, and will move onto the finals!"_

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN:** Welp, Nate lost for the first time. And Genesect was still a thing apparently. Oh the things that'll unfold now...

So yeah, that should be a good place to stop; enough battles to satisfy your action needs, a good amount of plot to not feel filler, and oh my, Rosa's onto Yancy's case. This can't end well.

Also before some of you might complain that the battles feel rushed, yes I can admit they may be shorter than the usual battle scenes, but then again A) I didn't cut them up like I usually do to fit enough in so that the tourney doesn't drag on as much, B) the length should be enough considering how many matches I have to cover, and C) You have people like Colress and Cheren who clearly outclass their opponents, and up until the quarterfinals it was one v ones, so it outta be shorter than usual. And for Schwartzer v Bianca, have you been on the receiving end of a Haxorus at +5 attack? That shit hurts, you know. Especially if they also have +2 speed.

I still hope the battles were good enough though, and I plan to expand the last two battles of the tourney in the next chapter some more since there's only those two tourney matches to worry about, before we move on with the actual plot. Cheren vs Schwartzer and then Finals, where Colress faces off the winner of the former matchup.

Pretty sure that's enough for now. And current teams:

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Nite (Pignite) / Buzz (Electabuzz) / Brav (Braviary) / Deo (Keldeo) / Zoro (Zoroark)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Arcanine) / Mandi (Mandibuzz) / Gustav (Amoonguss)

Hugh: Flygon / Servine / Magmar / Tirtouga / Heracross

Yancy: Audi (Audino) / Teddi (Ursaring) / Snor (Snorlax) / Toge (Togekiss)

And that's it for now. Thank you for waiting so patiently and sorry for the massive delay. Hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you think, and I'll see you all next time, when Sun and Moon isn't taking over my life.


	16. 15: Hidden behind a mask

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 15: Hidden behind a mask**

* * *

 **AN:** I'M ALIVE! FINALLY after being set free from that accursed college for spring break, I finally finished something! Now, how long was that? *Looks at update date*.

Ah fuck.

Alright, so I owe you all a huge apology. I mean I did say last time that Sun and Moon would take over my life, but in the mean time, so did college, work, Breath of the Wild (which is fucking amazing) and a bunch of other obligations. Of course that doesn't excuse my tardiness, but it at least gives you an idea of why I was dead for the past few months.

Hopefully you all will still enjoy this chapter regardless, and I need to work on Platinum With and Fidelity, cuz I kinda let them rot.

And for those who reviewed while I was gone:

 **FantasyLover88** : Thank you! Hopefully these last two matches of the tourney will meet up to your expectations!

 **Guest** (11/15/16): Hey, to each their own, I suppose. Wait I can't be biased on shipping yet.

 **Tony Anderson** : Thank you!

 **Defender31415** : Thank you! The story's gonna start picking up on romance, now that there's a clear love triangle going, and I might do another Q&A in the future. Maybe, who knows.

And I mean Nate isn't invincible, and if there's something he didn't see coming, that'll make odds of him winning all the less likely.

 **Bob'sBurger** : Yeah irony is funny at times. Oh this can only lead to messy heartbreaks. And drama. LOTS of drama. And thanks, I kinda wanted to make some twists here and there, and having Nate lose is a great one imo.

 **Camilla** : Oh thank you, this love triangle's only gonna become more interesting as things and emotions escalate from here on out.

 **TheDarkMaster4000** : Thanks for catching onto the mistakes, they should be fixed by now. And thank you, glad you enjoyed the entirety of the last chapter. Will he go back to the movie gig?

Idk didn't think that far ahead atm.

 **BreadNotDead** : Aw, that sucks. Hopefully you get a 3DS soon (if you haven't at this point). And oh well, things don't turn out as planned sometimes, and that's certainly the case for Nate.

 **Arcturus360p:** Oh my God, yes! Someone who understands how much of a douche college is! And yes, Persona is amazing. And I won't abandon you guys, don't worry. I will get my ass handed to me by life though.

 **Anonymous Traine:** Nope, as far as anyone's concerned, Schwartzer and Weiss are characters of PoYS.

 **Awsomeman726:** Idk maybe he's who you think he is. Maybe not.

 **thoriq2307:** Only time will tell, really.

 **I M Poik:** Let's see if your idea is right. And here's the next chapter for ya!

 **X-keeper 13:** Why thank you! Much appreciated! And you might be onto somehting...

 **sdhat11:** Well that's the first I've heard of this analogy. And love does things to a person. Sometimes good. Other times...not so much.

 **TeamPiperM:** Idk he might. Read to find out.

 **Guest** (3/20/17): I dunno, she might be. Who knows.

 **Musashi6930:** Why thank you! Sorry for the delays, I've been caught up with a lot as you can see. Hopefully this amends it all!

And there we go! Alright to the story!

* * *

" _AAAAAND IT'S OVER!"_ the announcer boomed as the crowd roared in cheers. _"After a reverse sweep with this new Pokemon taking out both Keldeo and Lucario, Colress takes it over Nate, and will move onto the finals!"_

Nate's eyes widened as he glanced down to Luca, who was sprawled on the floor, charred from the opponent's finishing flamethrower and unconscious. On the other side of the field was Colress, with his mechanical bug monster, Genesect, or 'MKI' according to the scientist, who had defeated him in spite of Nate's best efforts.

"Hm, very good," Colress addressed to MKI as he recalled the bug back into its pokeball, before heading over to Nate and extending a hand out. "That was a good match. You've certainly improved since last time."

Nate glanced back up and gave Colress a blank stare, before sighing and begrudgingly accepting the handshake. "I would've planned differently if I knew you still had that piece of shit in the back."

"You should've been wary about the possibility of MKI to begin with," Colress chuckled. "Regardless, that was a good battle. Your Pokémon are of prime standards as expected."

"Whatever," Nate muttered before he tended to Luca. "Yo, you alright?"

"-Ngh...Nate...?-" Luca groaned as she managed to wake up.

"You did well, girl," Nate comforted the canine as he recalled her. "I'll get you healed up."

" _Incredible sportsmanship from both competitors!"_ the announcer yelled. _"Up next will be the other semifinals match between Cheren Heilian and Schwartzer!"_

* * *

"What...just happened...?" Yancy asked.

At the backroom, everyone present just stared at the monitor screen in shock, having watched the whole battle.

"Nate...he actually lost," Hugh muttered, genuinely surprised. "...to Team Plasma..."

"But what the hell was that thing the four-eyes sent out last?" Roxie asked. "I never seen anything like it!"

"Yeah..." Iris mumbled, before glancing to the other two girls. "Uh...are you two alright?"

Rosa and Yancy just kept staring at the screen with the most vacant, shocked expression on their faces. They just couldn't believe what they saw. That Nate had actually...lost. After seeing the boy win against countless odds, they were just accustomed to the sight of Nate winning. That along with Nate's strong conviction was the source of their admiration for him and why they viewed him on such a high pedestal (no matter how much Rosa tried to hide it).

To see him actually lose...it was surreal.

"Rosa...? Rosa!" Hugh yelled.

"Oi, Yance!" Roxie yelled.

As the two snapped out of their stupor, Nate kicked the door open and trotted in, noting the heavy atmosphere in the room and gathering everyone's attention to him.

"The hell's wrong with you guys?" Nate asked. "It's like a funeral in here."

"Nate...?" Yancy asked, as she went up to him. "Are you alright?"

"Eh? I'm fine," Nate shrugged.

Rosa glowered at Yancy, before rushing up to Nate herself.

"Are you sure?" Rosa asked.

"Sheesh, what's with you guys? If I said I'm fine, then I'm fine," Nate groaned, assuring the two. "I miscalculated, and lost because of it. Simple as that."

"You're taking this pretty well," Hugh commented as he walked up to them. "Considering it was Team Plasma you lost to. And their current leader nonetheless."

"I mean, what else do you want me to do?" Nate asked. "There's no helping to losing. Not gonna cry over spilt milk. Now if you excuse me, I need to heal up my team."

With that casual dismissal, Nate left the room to go heal his team up, leaving the rest of the trainers to themselves.

"He's taking it well," Iris said.

"Yeah," Roxie agreed, before noticing the two girls still glancing towards where Nate had left. "Yo, staring at the door isn't gonna change anything. C'mon, the next match is gonna start."

Rosa and Yancy glanced back at Roxie, before reluctantly heading back. Hugh narrowed his eyes at Rosa, before stopping the girl with a hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, what's up with you?" Hugh decided to interrogate.

"What're you talking about now?" Rosa asked.

"You're acting way too clingy to him," Hugh noted. "Ever since yesterday you've been like that. What's with the sudden change of attitude?"

"...It's nothing," Rosa huffed. "Nothing's changed, alright?"

Hugh did not look convinced, but decided to not press on about the matter. If she refused to say what was on her mind, then Hugh would not be getting it out of her any time soon.

"Fine," Hugh muttered, before glancing to the screen. "It looks like Professor Cheren's match is about to start, anyways."

Everyone switched their attentions to the screen as the last two combatants made their way onto the stage. Despite leaving the matter, Hugh still could not help but wonder why Rosa is suddenly acting so strange as of late. She seemed much nicer around Nate and less haughty overall around him. It was almost as if Rosa started to develop feelings for their rogue friend.

Hugh shook his head at that thought. That was ridiculous. There was no way prideful Rosa would fall for Nate.

* * *

" _AAND LET'S BEGIN THE SECOND HALF OF SEMIFINALS!"_ the announcer boomed. _"Can we have both Cheren and Schwartzer to the stage!?"_

From their respective sides, Cheren and Schwartzer emerged onto the battlefield in the midst of the roars of the audience.

"So you are my opponent now," Schwartzer commented. "I'm not going to lie, I was looking forward to face you in battle."

"Likewise," Cheren replied. "After seeing you go through the competition, I just wanted to have my turn at battling you."

"Oh? Well I'm honored to hear that," Schwartzer chuckled. "Hopefully you'll fare better than everyone else I fought until now. Frankly, I'm starting to get bored that no one can defeat Haxorus. My other Pokémon need exercise too, you know."

The black-cladded man held out a pokéball, while Cheren did the same.

"I wonder if you can pull it off," Scwartzer challenged.

" _And the second semifinals match will begin!_

 _Trainers, get your Pokémon ready...!_

 _And BEGIN!"_

Both competitors sent out their Pokémon. To everyone's surprise, they were both haxoruses; the normal, dark yellow-green one belonging to Cheren, while the shiny black one belonging to Schwartzer.

" _It would seem that we have a haxorus mirror match in our hands!"_ the announcer yelled. _"Which one will reign supreme!?"_

"Haxorus, Dragon Dance!" Cheren yelled.

"Swords Dance," Schwartzer commanded calmly.

Haxorus paced in a circling motion, boosting his attack and speed, while Shiny Haxorus summoned several red swords to surround him.

"Now, Outrage!"

"Meet it with Dual Chop."

Haxorus roared ferociously as he lunged at Shiny Haxorus in a frenzy as the swords around Shiny Haxorus dissipated into a red mist that flowed into the black dragon. Shiny Haxorus's twin blades became blue scythe blades, as he slammed them into the incoming Haxorus's frenzy, stopping his non-shiny counterpart in his tracks.

Cheren clicked his tongue as he saw his haxorus struggled against his black adversary. He was hoping for the Outrage to do some damage after the Dragon Dance, but apparently it wasn't enough. Especially if he met the attack with his own attack boosted by a Swords Dance. Shiny haxorus pushed Haxorus away, before bringing the other blade down upon Haxorus. Haxorus managed to parry it, but the force pushed him back away from Shiny haxorus. Haxorus panted heavily, exhaustion from the Outrage overtaking him, before proceeding to shove the lum berry Cheren had him hold to cure the confusion. Shiny Haxorus growled as he waited for his opponent to make their next move.

"Earthquake!" Cheren yelled.

"Dual Chop."

Shiny Haxorus prepared another set of blue blades as he rushed towards Haxorus, who stomped the ground to cause an earthquake to impede the black dragon. The faulting plates of the ground slammed into Shiny Haxorus's gut, causing him to flinch slightly, before he powered through and attacked Haxorus. Haxorus was able to dodge the attack thanks to the boosted speed, leaving the blue blade to slam into the ground, creating a visible crack in it and embedded into it slightly.

Haxorus tried to go in for an attack while Shiny Haxorus seemed to be open, but the black dragon immediately ripped the embedded blade out of the ground and swung it at Haxorus, slamming it into his gut. Haxorus gagged from the impact, before Shiny Haxorus slammed the other blade across Haxorus's face, slamming him into the wall.

"Haxorus!" Cheren cried out.

"Dragon Dance," Schwartzer calmly ordered.

The dragon fell off the wall as Shiny Haxorus performed a similar motion that Haxorus did at the beginning of the match. Haxorus struggled to get back up, while Shiny Haxorus finished his preparations.

"Rock Smash."

"Outrage!"

Shiny Haxorus darted for Haxorus and went for a frontal lunge, while Haxorus managed to get up and retaliated against the incoming attack. Haxorus slammed his foot into Shiny Haxorus's gut, but not before taking the frontal lunge straight into the gut as well from Shiny Haxorus. Haxorus, unable to take any more attacks, fell to the ground, while Shiny Haxorus gagged a little, but shook it off.

" _AAAND Cheren's Haxorus falls the its black counterpart!"_ the announcer exclaimed. _"However it put up quite a fight, and Schwartzer's Haxorus didn't win the fight unscathed!"_

The announcer's words held fact, as Shiny Haxorus couldn't help but pant somewhat. Schwartzer was internally amused. This was the first opponent that was able to make Shiny Haxorus show any kind of fatigue. Perhaps he might actually have to use his other members for this match...

"Jellicent!"

Cheren had swapped out the fallen haxorus for his jellicent; the Water-type wraith floating down onto the field.

"Interesting..." Schwartzer commented as Shiny Haxorus got ready for the next opponent.

" _And Cheren sends out his jellicent! It showed quite some work in Cheren's previous matches, but how will it stand up to the shiny haxorus?!"_

"Ice Beam!"

"Dual Chop."

Jellicent shot an icy laser at the black dragon, whereas Shiny Haxorus lunged forwards with prepped blue blades, powering through the Ice Beam with all his might, before charging straight for Jellicent.

"Will-o-Wisp!"

Jellicent was able to dodge the attack, before blasting Shiny Haxorus with ominous fireballs, burning the dragon in the process.

"Now, Hex!" Cheren yelled.

Jellicent's eyes glowed a bright red and purple and released a dark blast at Shiny Haxorus, immobilizing the dragon and causing him immense pain.

" _And out comes a nasty Hex combo from Jellicent! But is it enough to finish off the juggernaut that is the shiny haxorus?!"_

"Oh, so he thought it out," Schwartzer commented. "...However."

Shiny Haxorus revealed a small green berry he had hid behind one of his scales and proceeded to eat it.

"A lum berry?!" Cheren gasped.

"Two can play at this game," Schwartzer simply responded. "Dual Chop."

"Kh! Ice Beam!"

Shiny Haxorus's blades turned blue as Jellicent shot back and hastily shot an Ice Beam at the dragon, this time aimed at the dragon's leg. Shiny Haxorus sliced through the Ice Beam before it could hits his leg and slammed the blade onto Jellicent, sending the jellyfish wraith into a wall. The force was enough to knock out Jellicent, as the Water-type slid off the wall unconscious.

" _And Jellicent is out as well!"_ the announcer yelled. _"Despite a hard-hitting counter assault, Shiny Haxorus still takes it once again! But can it last for much longer?!"_

Cheren glanced back at Shiny Haxorus as he recalled Jellicent. While his plan to cripple the behemoth failed due to their own preparations, it still left a good mark on it. For the first time in this tournament, Shiny Haxorus was panting near exhaustion. It seemed like just a little more, and he could actually defeat Shiny Haxorus.

' _But then what?'_ Cheren thought.

Sure he could defeat Shiny Haxorus. It was a possibility. And then what happens after that? Schwartzer still had at least two more Pokémon that he hadn't revealed once throughout the whole tournament. Schwartzer could have anything at this point, and there was no way Cheren was prepared for what could come.

...No, he shouldn't feel that way right now. What was important now was to go as far as he could go. Throw everything he has against him. Leave with a battle he wouldn't regret.

"Serperior!"

For his third and last member, Cheren sent out Serperior to fight Shiny Haxorus.

" _And for his last Pokémon, Cheren sends out Serperior! Can it finally put Shiny Haxorus down and clutch through with a victory?!"_

The grass serpent glared at Shiny Haxorus, who was still panting from going through Cheren's other members.

"Dual Chop."

"Swords Dance!"

Shiny Haxorus lunged for Serperior with his two blue blades, but Serperior was able to easily avoid it, before summoning red blades of his own that circled around him and were absorbed into him.

"Iron Tai!"

Shiny Haxorus turned around to retaliate, but Serperior had already brandished his own tail, which was a silver luster, and slammed it against the dragon, pushing him back somewhat.

"Rock Smash," Schwartzer commanded without losing his cool.

"Iron Tail again!" Cheren yelled.

Shiny Haxorus lunged forward as Serperior prepared another Iron Tail attack. Shiny Haxorus lunged straight forward, but Serperior was able to narrowly avoid it, before slamming his tail on Shiny Haxorus's head once more. Shiny Haxorus growled lowly in agony, slowly becoming dazed from the repeated strikes from Serperior on his head.

"Now, Leaf Blade!"

Serperior's tail glowed green this time as the leaf on the end of his tail sharpened, and sprung at Shiny Haxorus while the dragon was recovering. Before Shiny Haxorus could react, Serperior proceeded to slice the Leaf Blade across Shiny Haxorus, with enough force to slam Shiny Haxorus off his feet, and make the black dragon fall to the ground. Serperior backed off in caution, just in case Shiny Haxorus managed to withstand the attack. As the dust cleared, Shiny Haxorus remained still on the floor, unconscious from the blow.

" _AAND SHINY HAXORUS IS UNABLE TO BATTLE!"_ the announcer bellowed as the crowd roared in excitement. _"FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THIS ENTIRE TOURNAMENT, AFTER IT SWEPT THROUGH SO MANY COMPETITORS ON ITS OWN, THE SHINY HAXORUS FROM SCHWARTZER FINALLY GOES DOWN!"_

Serperior sighed somewhat in relief, while Cheren found himself panting in mental exhaustion. They did it. They were able to take out the Shiny Haxorus that acted as the juggernaut of the tournament. Even if it took nearly all of his Pokémon to do it.

"...Well now," Schwartzer chuckled, clearly amused. "To think Haxorus would finally be bested. Congrats on that."

Schwartzer took out a pokéball, before recalling Shiny Haxorus, muttering some words of consolidations to the black dragon. He then swapped out the pokéball for another one.

"Y'know, you're interesting," Schwartzer said to Cheren. "I like you. You obviously know what you're doing, and you have multiple strategies prepared to subdue Haxorus. A shame though. If you knew what the rest of my roster was, then you could've beaten me."

Cheren gulped. Right, Shiny Haxorus was just his _first_ Pokémon. He never revealed what his other part members were for the entire tournament.

"I did have something interesting in mind for this matchup," Schwartzer said. "I really do have to make it to grands. I have some business to settle with the man waiting there. I can't exactly afford to slip up."

Schwartzer threw his pokéball into the air, where it released Schwartzer's second Pokémon. Landing onto the battlefield was a reddish-brown quadruped Pokémon, with orange and gray dots spotted all across its body, claws on each of its four legs in a cross formation, and its face covered by an iron mask with red-orange eyes uncovered.

"Oh come on," Cheren could not help but let out a laugh out of the sheer hopelessness of the new matchup.

" _A-A-A-And Schwartzer reveals his next Pokémon; the legendary Magma Pokémon, Heatran!"_

Heatran let out a high-pitched screech as the entire battlefield suddenly felt much hotter. It then stared at Serperior, who was just gaping at the Fire-type monster in sheer disbelief.

' _So I go through all that trouble to take out the haxorus, only for him to have a bloody heatran waiting,'_ Cheren thought sardonically. _'Bloody fucking wonderful.'_

Cheren honestly did not know what to expect. He did assume that Schwartzer could have anything, but he did not expect the mysterious trainer to have a legendary Pokémon amongst his ranks. The fact that it had a complete type advantage over Serperior, both offensively and defensively, was just the icing to the cake.

"Flash Cannon."

Heatran opened its mouth and fired a laser of light at Serperior, who had to dodge it for dear life.

"Aqua Tail!"

Serperior's tail suddenly surrounded with a whirpool of water, before Serperior lunged for Heatran and brought it down upon the Fire-type. Heatran, in response, let out another screeching roar, releasing an immense amount of heat that stopped Serperior in his tracks, while causing the water around his tail to evaporate.

"Magma Storm."

While Serperior was flinching from the ear-piercing sound that was Heatran's scream, Heatran shot a vehement stream of fire at the grass snake. The fire blasted the snake, before it quickly surrounded Serperior, trapping him in a blazing vortex.

"SERPERIOR!" Cheren cried out.

Serperior screamed in agony as the storm raged on, illuminating the entire arena with its intense light. Cheren could do nothing but stand and watch powerlessly as Serperior was ravaged by the infernos, while Heatran and Schwartzer simply watched the attack do its work. Eventually, the storm ceased, and Serperior was finally released from the fiery death trap, and fell to the ground, charred and burned, and in no condition to fight.

* * *

" _Serperior is unable to battle!"_ the announcer declared. _"After a swift retaliation, Schwartzer takes it over Cheren, and will move onto the finals!"_

The crowd roared in applause as Cheren sighed and recalled Serperior.

"You did amazing out there," Cheren smiled. "Get a good long rest."

Schwartzer recalled Heatran, before walking over to Cheren with a hand extended out.

"Good match," Schwartzer complimented.

Cheren stared at the black-cladded man, before sighing and accepting the handshake.

"Good match," Cheren said, before sighing. "As expected I suppose. You're damn strong."

"You're pretty good yourself," Schwartzer said. "To be able to defeat Haxorus...that's no small feat."

"Thanks, although I didn't win..." Cheren chuckled. "Didn't expect you to have a heatran though...I thought it only existed in Sinnoh..."

"Perhaps," Schwartzer shrugged. "I do look forward to fighting you again in the future."

"Likewise," Cheren nodded as he bowed slightly and made his way off the arena.

"...As expected from you," Schwartzer murmured as he saw Cheren off, before walking off the arena himself.

" _We will take a short 10 minute break before we proceed to the Finals match!"_ the announcer informed the venue.

* * *

Nate simply stared at the screen as his Pokémon were being healed, having watched the battle.

"Well that's something," Nate muttered absentmindedly.

"Sir, your Pokémon are ready!" the nurse informed Nate.

"Thank you," Nate nodded as the nurse handed him his Pokémon back, before promptly leaving the arena. The boy looked around, seeing that not too many people are around at the concession stands, before letting his team out to get some air.

"Alright you lot," Nate said, getting their attention. "We lost."

The Pokémon looked either looked depressed or angered, before giving Nate an apologetic look. Luca could not even bring herself to look up to Nate in shame for losing.

"Oh come on, don't look like that," Nate muttered. "We did our best, and lost. Simple as that."

"-Sorry Boss...if only I was stronger, then...-" Nite mumbled.

"-Damn it! If only I was stronger...-" Deo growled. "-Then I wouldn't have lost to him...-"

"Alright, Nite, lighten up. And Deo, calm down," Nate grumbled. "Look, no matter how much you whine about it, it's not gonna change the fact that we lost to him."

Deo glared at Nate, but sighed and calmed down, knowing that raging about a loss was pointless.

"At this point, we just get better," Nate said. "If I knew he still had that shit in the back, then I would've planned much better. We just get back at him next time. Alright?"

Everyone glanced at Nate, before nodding reluctantly. Nate sighed. Obviously his Pokémon are taking the loss to heart. He could understand that; they were pretty close to winning it all, and they worked hard to get to it. But they lost in the end, making all of their hard work null and void.

"We'll get him next time," Nate said encouragingly. "Now c'mon you lot. Back into your pokéballs."

Nate recalled his team back into their pokéballs, except for Brav and Luca.

"-You know you can let it out,-" Brav said to him. "-You may be able to hide it from the others, but you can't fool us.-"

"Keh! Can't hide shit from you can I old man," Nate muttered as he loitered around. "...Yeah, I might be pissed off that I lost to him..."

Looking back at it, he lost to Colress. While the rogue will admit that Colress is a formidable battler, he was still Team Plasma. Losing to Team Plasma left a rather bitter taste to him.

Losing to Team Plasma...

Losing to Team Plasma...

To Team Plasma...

Nate gritted his teeth in anger as he stomped the ground, making an audible and visible crack on the concrete pavement.

"Fucking Plasma..." Nate growled in pure rage.

It was obvious that he was taking the loss to heart as well, in spite of how he showed himself in front of his other Pokémon, and was just as frustrated, if not more, as Deo was. Brav and Luca could sense the frustration Nate was emitting, with Luca wilting in shame for losing the match for him. Nate noticed Luca, before exhaling and calming down.

"Look, it's not your fault," Nate assured her. "Honestly it's my fault for not planning this out better enough."

Luca looked up to Nate, before smiling slightly, feeling somewhat better. Nate smiled back, before rubbing her head.

"Oh, so you can understand them?"

The three suddenly shot up and glanced behind them to see a figure in a hooded robe. The hood was completely concealing the figure's face, making it impossible to see it.

"...And who are you?" Nate asked cautiously, as Luca growled and got into a defensive stance.

"Calm down, I come in peace," the figure said with a noticeably masculine voice.

"...I see," Nate muttered, not letting his guard down. "So what do you want?"

The hooded figure stared at Nate and Luca critically with cold, purple eyes. Luca never dropped her stance, while Brav kept watch over them, just in case the hooded figure did anything peculiar or threatening.

"...I sense much darkness...much hatred in your heart," the hooded man said. "...But, there is potential."

"Alright, the hell're you talking about?" Nate growled, starting to get annoyed.

The hooded figure stared at Nate, before swiftly backing away, almost sliding away.

"...I'm going to bestow a role onto you," the figure declared.

"What?"

Before Nate could react, the hooded figure flung his arm outward, throwing something at Nate and Luca, whom caught it. In Nate's hand was a peculiar, yet beautiful looking round stone, while in Luca's paw was a similar looking stone, but colored yellow-orange, with a blue and red swirl crystallized inside it.

"Keep those on you," the hooded figure said as Nate and Luca examined them. "You'll need them for the crisis that is to befall this region in the near future."

"'Crisis that is to befall...'? The hell're you–?" Nate asked as he looked up, but was surprised to see that the hooded figure was nowhere to be seen. "The hell? Where did he go?"

They looked around, but could not spot the man anywhere. It was as if he vanished without a trace.

"...That was weird," Nate muttered, before glancing back at the stone.

He had never seen anything like it before. Surely he could sell it for a rather hefty price. But what the man said...it worried him somewhat. The man could be crazy for all he knew. But something, something in his gut told him that he and Luca should keep the stones. And Nate was not one to take his gut instinct for granted.

Nate stared at the stone a little longer, before putting it along with Luca's stone into the bag and recalling Luca and Brav.

" _And the Finals will begin momentarily! Can Colress and Schwartzer please come back to the arena?!"_

Nate glanced back up to the arena. Apparently the last match was to begin. The boy shrugged, before heading back, deciding to check out the last battle of the tournament. If he did want to get back at Colress, then he might as well gather as much data as possible.

...Or at least that was the plan, until someone grabbed him from behind.

"The fuck?!" Nate blurted, not even noticing the person, before glancing behind him. The person in question was a woman with long brown hair wearing a white sleeveless overcoat over a white and gray dress, with white sleeves that covered the arms that were keeping Nate from running. Her face was concealed with a white opera mask.

"Oh you look interesting," the woman smiled a rather mischievous smile that made Nate internally worry. "The name's Weiss. You wanna do something fun with me?"

"...Excuse me?" the boy blurted bewildered with a blush.

* * *

" _AND THE FINALS MATCH IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!"_ the announcer yelled. _"From the blue corner, his wish is to bring out the power of his Pokémon, and he certainly did! It's Colress!"_

The scientist walked onto the stage in the midst of the roars of the crowd cheering, adjusting his glasses as he awaited for his anticipated opponent.

" _And from the red corner, demolishing the competition like a black knight, it's Schwartzer!"_

The black-cladded man walked onto the stage in the midst of the cheering as well, face completely hidden from his imposing black mask save for his sharp red eyes.

"And it's down to you, eh?" Schwartzer asked.

"Indeed," Colress said. "Time to see what all the fuss is about with you firsthand I suppose."

"...To be honest, I personally wanted to run into you," Schwartzer admitted, catching Colress's attention. "The current leader of the recently resurrected Team Plasma. It's rather interesting really that Ghetsis would just hand the position over to you. Not saying that you don't seem qualified for it, but it's intriguing really."

"...What are you getting at?" Colress asked with somewhat narrowed eyes.

"Why would someone as power-hungry as Ghetsis Harmonia purposely leave the command of his precious syndicate with someone else?" Schwartzer asked. "Did he just not want to lead again after being foiled by a 16-year-old boy in a sense of karmic irony? Or is he planning something else on the sidelines and left a babysitter of sorts to not lose any progress?"

Colress narrowed his eyes further. This man, whoever he was, knew. Or at the very least he was on the right track.

"...You did your homework," Colress merely said.

"Why thank you," Schwartzer said, amusement notable in his tone. "I am a man who learns from his mistakes after all."

Before Colress could ask what he meant, the announcer cut him off.

" _Trainers, get your Pokémon ready...!_

 _And BEGIN!"_

* * *

Both Schwartzer and Colress sent out their lead Pokémon simultaneously. Predictably, Schwartzer sent out his shiny black haxorus, but Colress in response sent out his metagross.

" _And we have the infamous black haxorus, and the metal titan Metagross!"_ the announcer yelled. _"This will be a match to remember!"_

"Dragon Dance."

"Agility."

Shiny Haxorus performed his waltz, circling around as red sparks raged out around him, while Metagross suddenly bulleted for Haxorus, closing the gap between them in an instant.

"Ice Punch!"

"Rock Smash."

Metagross raised its forearm as it was incased with an icy energy before bringing it down upon the black dragon. Shiny Haxorus, in response, parried it with his attack, but was scraped by it in the process, leaving his blade to get frozen.

"So you're going to try and match Haxorus's speed and strike him down before he can attack," Schwartzer deduced. "That's one way to go by it."

"Of course," Colress responded. "I would need a suitable answer to such an unstoppable force if I want a chance to win, after all."

Schwartzer snorted. The metagross was indeed a suitable answer. Its naturally high defenses and Steel/Psychic typing meant that Dual Chop would not do much, while Rock Smash becomes neutral on hit at best, and it would be able to tank both attacks fairly well. Agility outranks Dragon Dance in terms of boosting speed, so Metagross would be consistently faster than Shiny Haxorus. And with Metagross's natural power, a well-placed Ice Punch would be fatal for Shiny Haxorus.

"...Ah well, I've been in worse scenarios before," Schwartzer shrugged. "Swords Dance."

Shiny Haxorus summoned several red swords that circled around him, before they dissipated and were absorbed into the dragon.

"Ice Punch!"

"Dual Chop."

Metagross vanished out of Shiny Haxorus's sights thanks to its blistering speed, while the dragon prepared his two blue blades. Metagross shot out behind the dragon to smash another icy claw into him, but Shiny Haxorus immediately reacted, smashing a blue blade through the ice and meeting the claw itself, before Shiny Haxorus flung Metagross away. The metallic spider landed back on its claws, but faltered slightly due to the pain the attack caused.

"Dragon Dance."

"Earthquake!"

Shiny Haxorus repeated the Dragon Dance once more, while Metagross smashed his claw into the ground, causing an earthquake to shake the arena. In spite of the tremoring ground and the faulting plates smacking into him, Shiny Haxorus never faltered, completing the dance and boosting his attack even further while further enhancing his speed.

"Now, Rock Smash!"

Shiny Haxorus reeled in, before bulleting towards Metagross at an even faster speed than the metallic spider, before slamming straight into it, pushing the Steel-type back. Metagross lost its balance and fell on one leg, as Shiny Haxorus skulked over it. Before Metagross could do anything, Shiny Haxorus slammed his tail against it, slamming it into a wall.

"Finish it off," Schwartzer commanded.

Shiny Haxorus nodded, before lunging straight for where Metagross landed to end the fight, but as Shiny Haxorus was about to land the finishing blow, Metagross shot out and slammed a surprise Ice Punch into Shiny Haxorus's gut. The dragon cried out in pain, but powered through and slammed his foot into Metagross's face, smashing it into the ground and finishing it off. Metagross was unconscious and unable to fight any further, but not before leaving a nasty Ice Punch for Shiny Haxorus to take. The dragon was panting heavily; the damage dealt was extreme, even if it was one or two hits that managed to land.

" _And Metagross goes down!"_ the announcer yelled. _"What will Colress do now against the haxorus after all these boosts it acquired!?"_

Colress nodded, before recalling Metagross and replacing it with Beheeyem, staying utterly calm. The Psychic-type floated as it stared at Shiny Haxorus.

" _Oh and it looks like Colress sends out Beheeyem to challenge the mighty Haxorus!"_ the announcer yelled.

"Don't tell me..." Schwartzer muttered as Shiny Haxorus got ready to battle.

"Trick Room."

Beheeyem lifted one of his arms and emitted a strange distortion, where a bizarre sensation filled the area, distorting the dimension of the arena itself.

" _Oh? It would seem that Colress made the first move, and set up a Trick Room!"_

"Should've known," Schwartzer clicked his tongue as he looked around, examining the Trick Room. "It's been a while since I've seen this in play..."

"Psychic."

Beheeyem suddenly disappeared from Shiny Haxorus's sights, before he felt himself suddenly being lifted up into the air. Beheeyem had reappeared behind Shiny Haxorus and casted a Psychic upon the dragon, before lifting up the dragon and slamming him back down onto the ground. As the dragon struggledto get back up, he turned around, but Beheeyem was no longer there.

"So he had another answer to Haxorus," Schwartzer muttered.

"Signal Beam."

Beheeyem reappeared above Shiny Haxorus and shot a strange light straight at him. Shiny Haxorus tried to block it, but under Trick Room, he moved too slowly to intercept it and took the Signal Beam to the face. The dragon growled as he got back up, while Beheeyem loomed over him, waiting for his trainer's next command.

" _Beheeyem is on a rampage! Can Schwartzer answer back quickly?!"_

Schwarter stared at Shiny Haxorus as he was struggling. Clearly Colress had planned this out; up to a backup plan should Metagross fail. At this rate, Shiny Haxorus would lose pointlessly.

"...Haxorus, return."

Shiny Haxorus glanced back, before nodding as Schwartzer recalled the black dragon. Schwartzer immediately sent out Heatran in replacement.

" _Oh? And Schwartzer has made a mid-battle switch, swapping out Haxorus for Heatran!"_

"So you decided to retaliate," Colress narrowed his eyes. "Beheeyem, Thunderbolt."

Beheeyem vanished in front of Heatran, reappearing at a safe distance away from the molten lava monster and shot a current of electricity at him. The Thunderbolt made a direct hit to Heatran, but the behemoth managed to shake it off relatively easily.

"Well that's not good..." Colress muttered.

"Lava Plume," Schwartzer commanded as he lifted his robe up to cover himself.

Heatran roared out and released a massive burst of smog and flames from his back that quickly enveloped the entire arena in a giant wave. Beheeyem had nowhere to dodge and took the full brunt of it, while Colress was forced to cover his face with his arms to shield himself from it as much as he could. When the plume ended, Colress found his white outfit dirtied with smog and burn marks, while Beheeyem struggled to stay afloat, burn marks covered all over his body. Schwartzer, on the other hand, was somehow protected from the attack by his robe, which surprisingly withstood the attack unscathed.

"What a devastating attack," Colress gaped. "...So that's your answer to my counter-play."

Obviously Schwartzer had experience with Trick Room, seeing how he immediately swapped out Shiny Haxorus for Heatran, which was much slower. While not as slow as Beheeyem, it was obviously a more suitable choice to send out than compared to the black dragon. And it also serves as a much harder matchup for Beheeyem due to its Fire/Steel typing and incredible bulk allowing it to handle Beheeyem's attacks with ease. Not even an Analytic-boosted Thunderbolt did much to Heatran, and that was Beheeyem's best option for attacking it.

Meanwhile Heatran had no problems sitting in front of Beheeyem's face. It could wait and let Beheeyem attack before striking back, not worried about having to chase it down. Especially since it came with Lava Plume, which covered the entire arena, so Heatran could simply sit there and spam Lava Plume and Beheeyem could not do anything about it or evade it for that matter.

"Lava Plume."

"Tch, Trick Room!" Colress quickly yelled.

As Heatran roared again, Beheeyem quickly emitted a strange light before getting enveloped by another Lava Plume. The distortion that covered the arena dissipated, returning it to normal. Beheeyem, however, ended up taking a Lava Plume once more, and plummeted to the ground.

" _And Beheeyem is unable to battle!"_ the announcer yelled. _"Schwartzer indeed answered back to Colress's strategies with a devastating attack after another!"_

Colress gritted his teeth as he recalled Beheeyem, while Schwartzer and Heatran simply stared down the scientist, waiting for his next move. Against this monster, he had only one real answer.

"MKI, come forth!"

As his last Pokémon, Colress sent out the dreaded genesect, christened MKI, to the field. There was a blue drive-like device attached to its cannon now.

" _And out comes the new Pokémon as Colress's last Pokémon!"_ the announcer yelled. _"It was able to defeat Nate in the semifinals, but will it be enough to save Colress from Schwartzer's wrath!?"_

"Oh, so you actually did it," Schwartzer snorted as Heatran got ready.

"-Target identified...-" MKI droned. "-Scanning...scanning...scanning complete. Target identified: Dex Number 485: Heatran. Target data acquired. Enhancing appropriate offense attributes.-"

MKI proceeded to emit a red spark around him in response.

"Magma Storm."

"Techno Blast!"

Heatran shot a blast of infernos at MKI, who responde by firing a blue beam of light at it. The beam made contact with the flames, and surprisingly doused it down, causing an immense amount of steam to cover the field.

"...A Water-type move...?" Schwartzer asked. "...What did he replace for it...?"

"Thunderbolt!"

MKI gave Heatran no time to rest, shooting a bolt of electricity at him. Heatran jumped to the side, avoiding the attack, but MKI followed it up with another Thunderbolt, striking the Fire-type down.

"...He still has Thunderbolt," Schwartzer muttered, remembering how MKI displayed its entire move set against Nate. "...The odds of him keeping Ice Beam are high, unless he forgone it, hoping that Metagross and Beheeyem would deal with Haxorus..."

Heatran shot another Magma Storm at MKI, but MKI kept retaliating with the Techno Blast attack, making it evaporate upon collision. This was getting Schwartzer nowhere.

"...Heatran, return," Schwartzer suddenly commanded.

Heatran nodded, before jumping back and allowing Schwartzer to recall him back to his pokéball.

"What?" Colress asked, genuinely surprised that he would recall Heatran against MKI. "...Is he planning to send out Haxorus?"

"...Let's hope you got rid of Ice Beam for this," Schwartzer said as he threw a new pokéball into the air.

The ball opened to release a bird-like dragon Pokémon with an aerodynamic body. The lower half of its body is blue with jet-plane wings and fin-like feet, with a red triangular marking resting on its chest. Around its neck hanged a lustrous blue orb on a necklace.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Colress blurted.

" _A-A-And Schwartzer replaces Heatran with Latios!"_ the announcer gasped. _"WOW! Not only Heatran, but the legendary Pokémon Latios as well! Just who is this trainer Schwartzer!?"_

"That's something I'm sure everyone wants to know," Schwartzer commented. "...Latios, scout for Ice Beam."

"-As you wish, Master,-" Latios said curtly, before taking to the skies."

"After it!" Colress gritted his teeth, not at all happy with the last member of Schwartzer's team.

MKI nodded, before transforming into a saucer-like form and flying after Latios. While MKI's air speed was impressive, it paled in comparison to Latios's speed, as the robotic bug was forced to chase after Latios with no hopes of catching up. The two flew through the air in an intense game of tag, with Latios showing no signs of being tagged.

"Tch, Techno Blast!" Colress yelled out.

While chasing after Latios, MKI shot a blue laser at the dragon in hopes of shooting it down. Latios saw it coming, and quickly maneuvered to avoid it.

' _-...It would seem that the opponent does not have Ice Beam,-'_ Latios informed his trainer telepathically. _'-Otherwise it would've used it by now.-'_

From underneath Schwartzer's mask, a grin formed.

"Checkmate," Schwartzer declared quietly, before yelling his next command. "Luster Purge!"

Latios nodded, before performing an aileron roll while dispersing several balls of light from behind. Once MKI got close to the balls of light, they quickly detonated, releasing a harsh blinding light that bombarded the mechanical bug, strong enough to force it to stop and force it out of its saucer mode to simply defend itself.

"Hidden Power."

Latios proceeded to perform a u turn and bullet towards MKI while it was fazed by the light. Before MKI could recover, Latios shot several orbs of energy at it, bombarding it with even more projectiles of energy. MKI screeched in pain as Latios shot it down, the attack clearly doing significant damage to it. As Latios stopped the attack as he flew past MKI, the cybernetic bug was unable to keep itself afloat, plummeting down to the ground. As Latios made his descent down back to Schwartzer, MKI made a hard thud onto the arena, its eyes dimmed and body immobile.

* * *

" _And the Pokémon goes down!"_ the announcer yelled. _"With an answer to all of his strategies, Schwartzer defeats Colress commandingly! Our Driftveil Tournament Winner is Schwartzer!"_

The crowd erupted in an applaud that rang through the entire facility as Schwartzer was declared the winner.

"Nice work," Schwartzer complimented, petting Latios.

"-Of course, Master,-" Latios smiled, pleased by the praise.

Colress, meanwhile, walked over to the now defunct MKI, and sighed.

"At least all that data will prove to be vital," Colress said, before recalling MKI. "There is definitely room for improvements."

"Good game," Schwartzer said, walking over to Colress. "As expected, you proved to be a worthy foe."

"And you as well," Colress said back, shaking Schwartzer's hand. "To think you also had Latios...I would've kept Ice Beam if that was the case."

"So you did get rid of it," Schwartzer commented.

"I assumed Metagross and Beheeyem were enough to suppress Haxorus," Colress commented. "But alas, I couldn't even take it down."

"Now then," Schwartzer said, red eyes gleaming at Colress. "You mind telling me what your 'boss' is up to?"

"...How about a trade of info, then?" Colress countered, pushing his glasses back up. "...Who are you? And how do you know all of this?"

Schwartzer stared back at Colress, who was unfazed by it.

"...Ah well, worth a shot," Schwartzer shrugged. "That's not exactly a good trade, anyways."

" _And with that, the Driftveil Tournament comes to a close!"_ the announcer yelled. _"Thank you all for participating! We'll see you all next time!"_

* * *

"AAAAHAHAHAA! THE TOURNEY WAS A SUCCESS!" Clay guffawed at the front lobby. "I knew it was a good idea to invite you lot!"

Rosa and the others were gathered in front of Clay, who wanted to thank them personally for accepting his invitation to the tournament.

"Well it was fun at least," Roxie muttered.

"Yeah, it was a fun tournament!" Bianca chirped.

"Yeah!" Iris agreed.

"Sure it was..." Rosa grumbled.

"Oh lighten up," Hugh chastised.

"But still, I appreciate y'all for helping me out," Clay said. "Thanks to y'all, this tourney went off without a hitch!"

"Clay, did you know that Colress was participating?" Cheren asked. "He is a part of Team Plasma, you know."

"To tell ya the truth, no," Clay admitted. "He was a last minute entry."

"And is something wrong with that?"

They all turned to see Colress, glancing through a tablet tapping away at it.

"Colress!" Hugh and Rosa exclaimed, alarmed.

"Now, now, I come in peace," Colress said.

"So can we help you with anything...?" Cheren asked, glaring at the Team Plasma member.

"I merely came by to say my thanks," Colress said. "All these battles provided excellent amounts of data for me to work with, after all. Speaking of which, where's Nate?"

Everyone gave the scientist a confused glance, before looking around to see that indeed, Nate was nowhere to be found.

"Actually yeah..." Yancy mumbled. "Where is Nate...?"

"He said he would go blow off some steam," Hugh said. "He should be back by now."

"Regardless, I wanted to thank him as well," Colress said. "But I would assume he wouldn't accept my gratitude so easily and honestly. In return, however, please do give this to him when you do see him again."

Colress took out a small yellow box-like contraption, before handing it to Hugh.

"What's this?" the blue-haired boy asked, examining the box.

"The 'Electrizer'," Colress explained. "If an electabuzz holds it and is traded, it will evolve it into an electivire. I'd assume this would be something Nate would want."

"...Thanks, I guess..." Hugh muttered.

"Now then, I will take my leave," Colress nodded, as he left the group.

"Right, I gotta head back to the gym," Clay said, before he prepared to leave. "Enjoy the rest of the festivities, y'all!"

"Right, I gotta head back too," Roxie muttered as Clay left, before turning to Yancy. "You...just be careful."

"R-Right..." Yancy nodded, which was enough for Roxie as the rock star left.

"Well I'm off, then," Iris said, seeing no point in staying around. "Bye Hugh! Bye everyone!"

With that, Iris left the building, leaving Rosa, Hugh, Yancy, Cheren and Bianca.

"...Does she like you or something?" Cheren asked Hugh.

"Huh?" Hugh asked, not understanding what Cheren was getting at.

"Wait a minute..." Rosa said. "Let's follow Colress!"

"What?!" Hugh blurted, turning to his childhood friend. "Why the hell would you want to do that?"

"I mean, he's with Team Plasma, right?" Rosa reasoned. "Maybe by following him, we can find out where their base is or something."

"I highly doubt that'd be the case," Hugh argued.

"Actually, she may be onto something," Cheren said.

"Really?!" Hugh and Rosa blurted, turning to face their former professor.

"While it's highly unlikely that we'll find their base of operations," Cheren reasoned. "If we do follow him, then we may be able to find something useful that'll help us find out what Team Plasma is up to."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Bianca asked.

"It's Team Plasma," Cheren replied. "You and I both know what they're capable of. We need as much as we can work with."

"...Yeah..." Bianca murmured, remembering how Team Plasma worked two years ago. "...Let's just be careful though..."

"Of course," Cheren assured her. "We learned our lessons from last time. We won't make the same mistakes."

"Right," Bianca nodded, before turning to the three kids. "So you get the idea. We're following him, and hopefully find something. Be careful though...this is Team Plasma. Who knows what they could have."

"Right," Rosa said, while Hugh nodded.

Bianca nodded, before noting Yancy's worried expression. Right, she forgot about her. As far as Bianca knew, this girl was simply tagging along with them. Bringing her with them to Team Plasma was not a good idea.

"Would you like to sit this one out?" Bianca asked Yancy nicely.

"Eh?" she asked.

"It's alright, this is really dangerous, after all," Bianca said. "If you don't want to go in, then I'll stay back with you."

Yancy looked slightly conflicted. She did have a point, anything involving Team Plasma was dangerous. And she was not as good of a trainer as Hugh or Rosa or Cheren.

But she would be damned if she just sit on the side and be useless and let everyone else do all the dirty work.

"...No, I'm going," Yancy declared. "I want to help as much as I can."

Bianca smiled. That dedication was admirable. It honestly reminded Bianca of herself two years ago.

"Alright, but be careful," Bianca said.

"Uh huh!" Yancy nodded determinedly.

"Uh, shouldn't we go now and try to catch up to him?" Rosa asked.

"Right, let's go!" Cheren exclaimed.

As the group rushed out the arena to find and follow Colress, Yancy glanced around, still not finding Nate anywhere.

' _Oh Nate...'_ Yancy thought. _'Where are you...?'_

* * *

"Y'know, out of all the things I'd expect to happen when you're kidnapped by a random lady," Nate remarked as he crawled through the duct. " _This_...this is not one of them."

After being dragged against his will by this masked lady in white, Nate found himself infiltrating a rather large, futuristic boat of sorts, and was currently crawling through an air duct.

"Oh come on, it's exciting, isn't it?" the lady, Weiss, if Nate remembered correctly, asked from behind. "It's like one of those stealth games."

"And why am I doing this again?" Nate asked.

"Because you said so."

"Well I didn't exactly had the option to do so."

In reality, he did agree, but the situation was just too bizarre for Nate to properly decline. And before he could straighten up, Weiss had already dragged him to the boat and had already stuffed herself and him into an air duct. So really, there was no backing out now. Especially since Weiss was behind him and essentially blocking his way back.

"Tell me when you find an opening," Weiss called back. "You should find one around the next left."

"How do you know this?" Nate asked as he entered the next left duct.

"Call it some research," Weiss simply replied teasingly as she followed Nate.

Nate growled under his breath in annoyance, before finding an air vent, just as Weiss predicted. He peered down and looked around to see if there was anyone in the room. No one appeared to be in the room, from what Nate could see.

"All clear," Nate said as he proceeded to carefully remove the air vent cover and slip into the room, with Weiss following right behind. "The hell are we?"

"It would look like we're at a bedroom of sorts," Weiss pointed out.

"Yeah, but...where...?" Nate asked.

As the two looked around, the door suddenly opened as two Team Plasma grunts walked in.

"Hey, what the–?!" one of them blurted as they walked in on the two intruders.

"...What?" Nate asked, before suddenly finding himself being pulled against his collar. "WHATTHE–?!"

Weiss had grabbed Nate by the collar and pulled him away while simultaneously smashing her foot across one of the grunt's face, knocking him out cold.

"WHOA WHAT THE–!?" the second grunt yelped, before Weiss had held a small spray container in front of him and spraying him with some kind of powder. "AGH?! What the...feeling...sleepy..."

The second grunt quickly collapsed, having fallen asleep within a matter of seconds.

"...What did you spray him with?" Nate asked.

"Oh some Spore concentrate from amoonguss," Weiss informed Nate as she let him go. "It's a sort of knock-out spray."

"I see..." Nate muttered, somewhat baffled by the transition of events that were happening as Weiss dragged the two grunts and hurled them on a bed.

"There, nothing suspicious here," Weiss smiled, before turning to Nate. "You're pretty good at this."

"Good? We almost got caught," Nate shot back.

"I mean it's good considering I basically kidnapped you and forced you to be my guinea pi–assistant," Weiss said as she took out a small red box. "Here, have a consolation reward."

"Huh?" Nate said as he accepted the small red box. "A Magmarizer?"

"Maybe you can use it," Weiss said. "I certainly won't find any use for it. Now c'mon, we better get a move on."

Weiss checked the hallways outside of the room before sprinting out of the room, where Nate still looked confused, but gave up and followed the white-clad woman, seeing no other option at all.

"But why the hell were there Team Plasma grunts?" Nate asked as he caught up with Weiss and put the small box into his bag. "Are they raiding this boat or something?"

"Close," Weiss said.

"Close?" Nate asked bewildered. "The hell do you mean by close?"

Weiss said nothing else on the matter as she maneuvered through the hallways with Nate behind her, avoiding more and more Team Plasma grunts as they ventured further into the interior.

"There's more of them..." Nate mumbled.

Weiss glanced around, before quickly sprinting forward and behind another corner, with Nate begrudgingly tailing from behind.

"And where are we headed, exactly?" Nate asked, starting to get annoyed.

Weiss did not respond, opting to continue leading the way, further frustrating Nate. The boy was seriously contemplating on just ditching the woman and escaping this damn boat. But considering she knew where she was going apparently and he did not, it was more of a wise decision to just bear with it and keep following her.

"Here it is," Weiss suddenly said.

Nate glanced up to see a dimly-lit corridor, with some kind of glowing panel at the end of it.

"It's a dead end," Nate said, confused. What was so special about a panel?

"You need to watch more anime," Weiss shook her head as she walked towards the panel.

"The fuck's anime?" Nate asked, before watching as Weiss stepped onto the panel and suddenly disappeared. "WHAT THE–?!"

Nate just stared at the panel with widened eyes, trying to comprehend what just happened. The woman just stepped on the panel and suddenly disappeared!

"What kind of horseshit...?" Nate asked, before he could hear people approaching. "Ah shit..."

Panicking slightly, Nate decided to take his chances and stepped onto the panel. Upon stepping onto it, he found himself being teleported for a few seconds, before being thrown into a completely new room.

"AGH!?" Nate yelped as he fell onto the floor. "Agh...the hell was that...?"

He groggily got up to find himself in a rather dark room. It was decently large, with a desk, and several monitors behind it, displaying several areas of the boat. From the monitors, he could spot several Team Plasma grunts. Nate then spotted Weiss at the desk in front of the computer that sat on it, typing away at it.

"...Alright, what the hell's going on?" Nate asked, finally having enough. "What is this place? Why are there so many Plasma grunts out there? Who are you? WHERE the hell are we?"

"...Well I guess you should know after I dragged you this far," Weiss admitted as she kept going through file after file. "There's a reason I said 'close' when you asked if Team Plasma was raiding this place."

"And that reason being?" Nate asked.

* * *

Rosa finally spotted Colress; the scientist heading for the Driftveil Harbor.

"Finally..." Rosa said, with the others right behind her. "C'mon."

The group silently followed Colress as the man headed for a rather large boat.

"A boat?" Cheren asked. "A means of transportation?"

As they hid behind a pile of crates, Colress glanced up to the boat, where a plank suddenly extended from the boat before the scientist. Colress nodded, before glancing behind him.

"You lot can come out, you know," the man said, catching them off guard. "I know you're there."

Begrudgingly, the group hesitantly emerged from the stack of crates that they were hiding from.

"And how did you know?" Hugh asked.

"I figured you lot would do something like this," Colress admitted. "I mean, I am the current boss of Team Plasma after all. If I was in your shoes, I would've done the same thing."

"...So now what...?" Rosa asked as she reached out to her pokéball.

"Well, since you made the effort to follow me," Colress said. "Would you like to come on board?"

Colress gestured to the boat, offering the group to ride on board. They all glanced at each other, hesitant to take the offer.

"You think this is a good idea?" Yancy asked.

"I mean...might as well..." Rosa shrugged.

"...All of you, stay on your toes," Cheren said. "We have no idea what's waiting on board."

The group nodded, which Colress took as a confirmation. The man walked up the plank, with the group following from behind. On board the ship, the deck was massive, larger and more open than the arena, with mechanically-stylized sails taller than the eye can see.

"...What is this place...?" Bianca asked.

"What is the meaning of this?"

The group turned to see a man with white hair wearing a large, heavy purple coat and a tall hat colored an equally dark purple. He was being accompanied by two Team Plasma grunts.

"Oh hello, Zinzolin," Colress said nonchalantly.

"Care to explain why you brought intruders on board?" the man, Zinzolin asked.

"Good grief," Cheren muttered, recognizing Zinzolin. "You're the Sage that was at the Cold Storage two years ago."

"And you two are two of the three trainers that confronted me there," Zinzolin replied, recognizing Cheren and Bianca. "So where's the third one? Hilbert?"

"Not here at the moment," Cheren shot back. "Though we won't need him to take care of you."

"Oh, how bold," Zinzolin chuckled, before turning to Colress. "So tell me again why you brought them here?"

"Oh what's the harm?" Colress asked as if he did nothing wrong. "It's not like they'll be able to do anything."

"Sometimes I can't tell if you're confident or arrogant at times," Zinzolin sighed. "I'd figured you to be the more calculating one between us. But whatever."

As Zinzolin glanced at the group, more Team Plasma grunts gathered around them, now surrounding them with numbers that far exceeded theirs.

"W-What is this place...?" Yancy asked.

"Oh yes, I should introduce myself," Zinzolin said. "I am Zinzolin. Former member of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma, and current co-leader of the newly resurrected Team Plasma. And this, young lady..."

Zinzolin spread his arms out wide open in dramatic effect, showing off the boat and increasing number of Team Plasma grunts.

"This...is the headquarters of the new Team Plasma," he answered. "The Plasma Frigate!"

* * *

"This is Plasma's base?!" Nate blurted.

"Yep," Weiss said. "Since their castle is now basically rubble buried under the League, they built a giant boat instead. And this very room..."

Nate's eyes widened at Weiss's next words as a chill crawled across his spine.

"This very room, is the command room of Ghetsis Harmonia, Team Plasma's underground leader."

* * *

Meanwhile, across the region, in a desolate and icy cold cave, one Kyurem was resting there, eyes closed as a heavy snore echoed through the vacant cave. The dragon slept peacefully, until the sound of footsteps and an extra sound of something clanking onto the floor echoed through the caves, waking the dragon up as the footsteps became louder.

" _ **It would seem that we have a guest,"**_ Kyurem said.

The two cryogonals that were accompanying Kyurem floated in front of him in defense, as the footsteps grew louder and closer.

"-Who goes there?!-" one of the cryogonals yelled.

The footsteps grew louder and louder, before a man entered the room Kyurem was in. The man had pale green hair while wearing a black cloak with an eye pattern on it that concealed his body with a red eyepiece over his right eye. The man held a cane with the Team Plasma emblem on it with his left arm as he approached the dragon, with a rather calm, cool and collected smirk on his face.

" _ **And who might you be?"**_ Kyurem asked.

"Greetings, 'Original Dragon'," the man offered. "No, now you are known only as 'Kyurem'.

"I am Ghetsis Harmonia Gropius. And I have an offer for you."

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN:** And let's stop there. So the winner of the tournament is Schwartzer! Oh yeah and they found Team Plasma's base and Ghetsis is making his move! What'll happen next? That's a tale for next time.

And again I sincerely apologize for the massive delay to this. I will get to work on Platinum Witch and Fidelity immediately, so please bear with me. And thank you everyone who was patient with me. I know it must've been a long wait ^^'.

And current teams:

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Nite (Pignite) / Buzz (Electabuzz) / Brav (Braviary) / Deo (Keldeo) / Zoro (Zoroark)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Arcanine) / Mandi (Mandibuzz) / Gustav (Amoonguss)

Hugh: Flygon / Servine / Magmar / Tirtouga / Heracross

Yancy: Audi (Audino) / Teddi (Ursaring) / Snor (Snorlax) / Toge (Togekiss)

No changes here. Alright, I'll see you all next time!


	17. 16: Fractures

**Pride of Your Soul**

 **Chapter 16: Fractures**

* * *

 **AN:** I said I would work on Fidelity after Platinum Witch. Obviously I lied, because I updated PoYS again. But seriously I will work on Fidelity, I just ended up getting more ahead with this than the former. I'm not abandoning anything; I will update Fidelity, but I just found myself writing more of this. Sorry about that. Also doesn't help that there was a bunch of stuff that happened over the summer like USM news, and me falling into an addiction over Fate Grand Order (great game btw, totally recommend :D).

 **FantasyLover88:** Sorry for the wait, but hope you enjoy!

 **Tony Anderson:** Thanks! Hope you enjoy this chapter then!

 **xQEAx:** Thanks! Hope you enjoy then!

 **Guest (Apr 11):** Thanks!

 **TeamPiperM:** I mean...I guess. There's at least a plausible reasoning for giving Schwartzer the firepower he has now.

 **Anonymous Trainer:** Yeah about that...

 **TheDarkMaster4000:** Yeah I'm full of surprises aren't I? And might as well use available resources, right? Don't worry there's a reason to this and it'll make sense. And no problem, I'm just interested in input regarding my stories in general, and your inquiries were interesting to look into. Why Hugh derailed from his correct assumption? I mean c'mon, there's no way someone as boisterous as Rosa would fall for someone as brash and tactless as Nate, right? :^)

 **X-keeper 13:** Yeah I have a tendency to randomly die and revive on this site, no worries. Thanks btw.

 **BLACK-BIRD76:** Yeah about that...

Thanks btw, sorry for the wait.

 **Para-DX:** Thanks! Here ya go!

 **SereneNacho:** Well I mean I know little of English VAs so I just took the casting they used for the BW2 anime trailer. Don't worry I won't quit. It'll just take a long time most likely. Glad you like how I write though; I usually think I'm half-assed when compared to other more prominent writers on this site, but thanks for the compliment anyways.

 **Aquille:** Yeah, yeah I'm still alive, calm your ass.

Alright, now here we go!

* * *

Kyurem stared at the man in front of him who declared himself to be 'Ghetsis'. The man had a rather off-putting smile on his face, as he came with an offer to the dragon.

" _ **An offer, you say?"**_ Kyurem asked.

"Yes, an offer," Ghetsis replied. "An offer that I'm sure you would appreciate."

Kyurem studied them man carefully. The man showed no concern; confident that whatever it was that he was planning would succeed. The man was confident that he would be able to sway Kyurem to help his cause.

" _Whatever you do, do not trust Team Plasma, and trust a man called 'Ghetsis' even less."_

Kyurem remembered the warning Nate had left him the last time they had met up. Ghetsis certainly did not sound like a common name, and the odds that this man was the same 'Ghetsis' that Nate had warned him about were fairly high. At the very least this Ghetsis did not look like one to be trusted.

" _ **And that offer would be...?"**_ Kyurem decided to humor the man.

"My resources inform me that you are in fact searching for the legendary Pokémon Reshiram and Zekrom," Ghetsis said.

" _ **And you know this, how...?"**_ Kyurem inquired.

"My resources are very potent," Ghetsis pursed a smile. "Anyways, you are searching for Reshiram and Zekrom. You also have someone looking for them on your behalf."

Kyurem narrowed his yellow blank eyes. So this is what Nate had warned him about.

"While I do not doubt in the abilities of your representative," Ghetsis said. "I came here to offer you my services."

" _ **Do you claim to be able to do what my representative has been tasked to do?"**_ Kyurem demanded, refusing to reveal said representative's name.

"In fact, yes," Ghetsis replied with confidence. "I have the resources and capabilities to acquire the two dragons. Arguably faster and more effectively than your representative."

" _ **...Interesting..."**_ Kyurem said. _**"And pray tell...why are you offering this to me? How does this benefit you in any way?"**_

"Because differing reasons aside, we share a common goal," Ghetsis answered. "We both wish to see the destruction of this region. So I figured it would be intuitive that we were to cooperate to achieve our goals. Together, we can achieve this goal easily."

Kyurem never let his stare off of Ghetsis. It was obvious that he could not trust this man, even if what he says is true. What exactly he was planning on was beyond the ancient dragon, but trusting this man with his life-long goals was unwise.

" _ **...While tempting, I will have to decline,"**_ Kyurem decided. _**"I have faith that my representative will achieve his goal. Thus, your offer is unnecessary."**_

"...I see," Ghetsis said calmly. "Understandable. Well then, I shall take my leave for now."

Kyurem had expected the man to show more emotion than that. The dragon was fully expecting the man to at the very least try and force him to comply. Not that anything the man had in his disposal would prove to be any worry.

"Do not be alarmed," Ghetsis assured Kyurem, holding his hand up. "I only came here today to relay an offer. I have no intentions to wage a fight against you. I highly doubt I would stand a chance anyways. However..."

The smirk returned to Ghetsis's face as the man stared back at Kyurem's empty eyes.

"Should something happen to your benefactor that makes him unable to achieve your request," Ghetsis told the dragon. "Just know that my offer still stands."

" _ **...Duly noted."**_

"...I'll visit again."

The man proceeded to leave the catacombs, leaving Kyurem and his two cryogonals to their thoughts.

"-Surely you aren't considering taking the man's offer, Master,-" one of the cryogonals said.

" _ **Of course not,"**_ Kyurem scoffed. _**"I have and always will place my faith in Nate. However..."**_

What Ghetsis said had left Kyurem with doubts. Nate's warning had implied that Ghetsis was affiliated with Team Plasma. Seeing as how they were able to gather both dragons at the same place before, surely such an organization would be capable of tracking down both Reshiram and Zekrom once more. But leaving such an organization to the task was something Kyurem would rather not have. He wanted someone the dragon could trust with the task, and Kyurem certainly did not trust Team Plasma.

...No, he would believe in Nate to accomplish the task. The boy was capable enough. He was sure the boy would not let him down.

" _ **...Let us see what happens, at the very least,"**_ Kyurem answered. _**"While trusting them would be what a fool does, they could still have some use."**_

While he trusted Nate, there was nothing wrong with seeing whether this Team Plasma could be used.

* * *

"You're saying we're in Ghetsis's command room?" Nate asked Weiss disbelievingly.

"Pretty much," Weiss said.

Nate could not believe his luck. That he somehow, by some crazy coincidence, ended up in the room of that bastard priest, which surely contained so much information that the boy could use for his own accord and benefits, was nothing short of a pure lucky coincidence. It also confirmed that Ghetsis was still around, and is most likely Team Plasma's true leader, with Colress merely acting as a figurehead, but that was beside the point.

If he could break into the computer and find out what Ghetsis was planning, then that would benefit Nate immensely.

The boy glanced at the computer that Weiss was currently looking through.

"...Hey, you mind if I take a look at that thing?" Nate asked inconspicuously.

"Oh? And why would a random trainer you want to look at it?" Weiss asked.

"Just curious is all," Nate shrugged.

Weiss stared at Nate, her mask giving off the vibe of blank eyes staring through the boy's soul. Nate, however, was unyielding, not being intimidated by the gaze.

"...Alright then," Weiss shrugged, moving away from the computer. "The ball's yours."

Nate smirked as he walked over to the computer. Several files were displayed before him on the screen, confusing Nate slightly.

"Uh..." Nate murmured, trying to figure out which one to pick. "How do I...?"

"Double-click on the icon."

Nate shot an annoyed glare at Weiss, who merely stuck her tongue out with a playful smirk. He still followed the advice regardless, and double-clicked on a random file. The file opened to reveal a schematic on what appeared to be a lynchpin of sorts.

"The hell's this...?" Nate asked himself, before clicking on another file.

The new file had detailed descriptions on two large dragons; both whom Nate recognized as Reshiram and Zekrom. He glanced through the data, before noting two descriptions on their current locations:

 _Reshiram:_

 _Current Location: Natural Harmonia Gropius_

 _Trainer Status: Unknown_

 _Zekrom:_

 _Current Location: Hilbert Warren_

 _Trainer Status: Unknown_

So they had no idea where the two were, either. Well that was one thing Nate did not have to worry about for now. The less they knew, the better. It gave Nate more time to hunt them down.

"Alright..." Nate muttered as he glanced around, before searching through more files and noticing a file that stood out from the others. "The hell..."

This particular file must have something important, if it was stowed away deep within the computer's database even among the other vital files Nate already looked through.

"Hm? What's going on there?"

As Nate was about to open the file, however, Weiss caught his attention. Nate glanced up to the camera feed where, to his shock, he recognized his companions on it, fending off what appeared to be a flock of Team Plasma grunts.

"The hell?! What're they doing here?!" Nate yelled, shocked.

"Friends of yours?" Weiss asked. "They seem to be in trouble."

Nate looked conflicted as he glanced back down to the file he was about to open. He wanted to look through the file stashed behind all the other files, but at the same time, his companions were in danger, and he did not want to take any chances, knowing Team Plasma. The boy glanced at the screen and the file back and forth, trying to make a decision. But as the boy was about to look down at the file once more, he caught sight of Yancy suddenly getting attacked by one of the grunt's Pokémon; her audino barely coming out on her own to defend her.

Apparently that was enough to make Nate decide, as the boy clicked his tongue and rushed out of the room to the warp panel, ignoring Weiss calling out to him as the boy left. Weiss stared back at the warp panel, before sighing.

"He may not admit it, but he does have people he care about," Weiss commented, before proceeding over to the file that Nate had been looking at, before accessing it. "...This is..."

* * *

"Gustav, Sludge Bomb!"

On Rosa's command, the amoonguss shot several projectiles of sludge at the group of raticates that lunged for them. As Gustav jumped back, from above several golbats swooped down, ready to slam into the mushroom and Rosa.

"Ice Beam, Audi!"

From behind the girl, a stray icy laser shot out and shot down the golbats, encasing them in ice as they plummeted to the ground. Rosa turned around to see Yancy, along with her audino.

"Are you okay?" Yancy asked as she went over to Rosa.

"...Yeah, thanks," Rosa mumbled somewhat reluctantly, before Gustav pushed her out of the way of another attack from a large viper-like Pokémon.

Meanwhile, Hugh ducked as Magmar spewed an intense flamethrower at the army of magnemites in front of him, roasting them to a crisp. As the magnemites fell, Hugh quickly punched an incoming grunt in the gut, before kicking him into another group of grunts.

"Tch, there's so many of them..." Hugh grumbled. "They're like roaches..."

"Fire Blast!"

"Dark Pulse!"

As more magnemites gathered around Hugh, a giant stream of fire and a stream of dark rings shot out from behind Hugh, blasting the horde of magnemites down. Hugh glanced behind to see a floating chandelier-like Pokémon courtesy of Bianca, and a liepard courtesy of Cheren.

"You alright?" Cheren asked.

Hugh glanced down at the liepard with a pained expression, before shaking his head. No, this was not his sister's purrloin. There was no reason to get worked up.

"Yeah, thanks Professor," Hugh said.

"But still..." Cheren muttered as he glanced around and saw more grunts show up with what appeared to be three magnemites clustered into one in multitudes. "Now it's magnetons. This is going to be annoying."

"Then allow me to make this even more annoying."

From the horde of magnetons, a bipedal weasel-like Pokémon with a pale grey body and a feathered crown shot out and lunged at Magmar with its claws. From the grunts, ZInzolin stepped out, seemingly in command of the weasel.

"A weavile?!" Hugh blurted.

"You honestly expect me to just stand around while a literal war is going on the deck?" Zinzolin asked.

Magmar tried to spew fire at Weavile, but the weasel was too fast for it, instead kicking Magmar in the gut, pushing him back.

"Night Slash!"

"Kh, Fire Punch!"

Weavile already lunged forward for another attack, but Magmar swung his burning fist at the weasel, parrying the Night Slash and smashing it right in its face.

"Oh," Zinzolin mused as Weavile jumped back. "Not bad."

Cheren and Bianca tried to intervene, but the magnetons decided now to get in their way.

"Oh come on!" Bianca groaned as Chandelure proceeded to spew fire at the magnemite-clusters.

"What they lack in skill, they make up in numbers, it would seem," Cheren grumbled as Liepard slashed down an incoming magneton.

While the chaos was going on at the deck, Colress merely watched it all with mild interest, as he sent out MKI.

"Well isn't this a smorgasbord of violence," Colress mused as MKI stared at the battlefield. "Pay note, MKI. Analyze all the data presented to you."

"Acknowledged," MKI nodded, before it suddenly shot its head up. "...Incoming flying object detected on radar."

Colress arched an eyebrow, before looking up to the direction MKI was staring at.

* * *

Audi and Gustav were slammed into a wall courtesy of a grunt's metagross. Rosa and Yancy rushed over to their respective fallen Pokémon, while the grunt commanding the metagross sneered at them.

"You two girls are really weak," the man cackled. "Once I beat your mons to a pulp, I'm gonna have some fun with you two hehehe!"

Rosa gritted her teeth as she got back up while recalling Gustav, seeing that he had a terrible matchup against the metagross. As the grunt stalked forward with a lecherous grin, a loud thudding sound suddenly came out as the man stopped. Rosa and Yancy looked confused, until the man fell over like a sack of flour, where Nate stood behind the man.

"Nate!" Rosa and Yancy exclaimed in relief and joy.

As Metagross whipped around in shock, before frantically trying to assault Nate, Brav suddenly appeared behind and stopped the incoming fist with his talon.

"-You're too early to challenge this old man!-" Brav sneered as he lifted Metagross up, before slamming it back onto the ground. The force was enough to knock it out, as Brav hovered back to Nate, while Yancy recalled the fallen Audi, as she and Rosa rushed up to him.

"You were okay," Yancy said.

"More importantly, what're you doing here?" Rosa asked. "We were wondering where you went off to."

"Long story," Nate passed it off. "Now tell me why the hell you lot are doing here."

"We were trying to follow Colress to see if we could find something out about Plasma," Rosa explained.

"I see..." Nate muttered as he glanced around to see the chaos going on. "Alright, so how do we even get out of here?"

Nate then noticed Hugh facing off against Zinzolin, where Magmar was currently fending off a weavile.

"That weavile's pretty good, fending off Magmar like that..." Nate murmured, before realizing something. "Wait, Magmar...? OH WAIT A MINUTE!"

Nate rummaged through his pocket and took out the small red box that Weiss had gave him earlier while infiltrating the ship. If he remembered correctly, this was necessary for Magmar to evolve. What a perfect opportunity this was then.

"HUGH!" Nate yelled out while waving the magmarizer in the air, catching the blunette's attention. "GIVE ME MAGMAR!"

"What the hell–Nate?!" Hugh blurted as Magmar avoided another Night Slash. "What's that box...? Wait why does that thing look familiar...? Wait a minute?!"

Hugh rummaged through his bag and took out the electrizer he had received from Colress earlier.

"NATE!" Hugh yelled out, waving the electrizer up in the air for Nate to see. "THEN GIVE ME BUZZ!"

"The fu–why the hell do you have that?!" Nate blurted, before realizing what Hugh had in his hand. "Oh wait, that is PERFECT!"

Hugh nodded as he quickly recalled Magmar and replaced him with Heracross to combat Weavile, as Nate took out Buzz's pokéball. Nodding, the two managed to hurl their respective pokéballs at the other, while catching the incoming one that they threw at each other. The moment the pokéballs got in their hands, they emitted a brief flash, where they released the creatures inside.

"-Wait, what the hell's going on?-" Magmar blurted, confused that he was suddenly recalled and traded.

"Not now!" Nate yelled before shoving the magmarizer into Magmar's hand. "Hold this!"

"-Wait why am I with you?-" Buzz asked, confused as well of the situation at hand.

"We'll explain later, just hold this," Hugh said as he gave Buzz the electrizer.

Before either Pokémon could further ask what was going on, Nate and Hugh recalled them back into their pokéballs while avoiding any crossfire from the pandemonium that was going on and managed to hurl the pokéballs back to their original owners. Nate managed to catch Buzz's pokéball, while Hugh was able to get Magmar's pokéball back. The moment the balls reached their hands, the same brief flash of light emitted, before the balls suddenly shook violently for a moment and glowed brightly. Once the shaking and light deceased, Nate and Hugh released the Pokémon inside. What used to be Buzz was now a humanoid, gorilla-like creature covered in yellow fur with black stripes, with two black tails with red rounded ends resembling open electrical wires. In place of Magmar was now a large, vaguely humanoid Pokémon with pink lips on its face, and yellow tubular arms with three small claws on each end.

"They evolved...?!" Rosa gasped.

"Wow..." Yancy could only say in awe.

As the new Pokémon examined themselves, Nate and Hugh scanned them with their pokédexes.

"Electivire, the thunderbolt Pokémon. The instant it presses the tips of its tails onto an opponent, it sends over 20,000 volts of electricity into the foe."

"Magmortar, the blast Pokémon. When shooting 3,600 degrees F fireballs from its arms, its body takes on a whitish hue from the intense heat."

"Alright, you're now called 'Vire'," Nate told the electivire. "Congratulations, you reached your final form. Hope you like that name, 'cause you're stuck with it for the rest of your life unless I decide to give you something even stupider."

"-Eh, it's better than 'Buzz',-" Vire shrugged as he punched the air to test his new arms.

"How do you feel?" Hugh asked Magmortar.

"-Not bad. Not bad at all,-" Magmortar nodded as he checked out his new cannon-like arms.

While the two were preoccupied, Team Plasma took the time to reinforce their own infantry, as more golbats and now skarmories surrounded them in the air, hovering above them.

"Jeez, how many of these do you guys even have?" Nate grumbled.

"While impressive that you were able to make such a change out of the blue," Zinzolin said as he stepped up. "We shall not let it stop us from dealing with you intruders. Also how did _you_ get here, anyways?"

"I snuck in. Duh," Nate replied matter-of-factly. "Alright then..."

Nate glanced at his pokédex to check on Vire's data, before noting a change in the Electric-type's move set.

"Yo, did Magmortar learn something new?" Nate asked Hugh. Hugh glanced down to his pokédex to confirm, before indeed finding a new move detected.

"Spread move?" Hugh asked.

"Spread move," Nate nodded. "Use it. Magmortar plus Vire'll take care of them all in an instant."

"Won't it hit us though?"

"It's a risk we're gonna have to take, unless you wanna spend the next hour going through this shit."

"...Fine."

As the flying enemies loomed over them, Nate and Hugh nodded to each other, before ducking down.

"Y'all might wanna duck," Nate warned the others, who proceeded to do so. "Okay good."

"Vire, Discharge!"

"Magmortar, Lava Plume!"

Electricity violently coursed through Vire as he kneeled down slightly, while Magmortar receded his claws in his arms, before bringing both of them upwards. Simultaneously, Vire released a huge flare of electricity as Magmortar released a massive burst of smog and flames upwards. Both attacks covered the entire ship, engulfing the airborne enemies with a flood of electricity and flame. Everyone else was forced to take cover as the Discharge and Lava Plume took no prisoners in swallowing the majority of the ship. After a few seconds, the attacks dissipated, as all the flying enemies fell down like flies.

"What a devastating combination..." Cheren muttered, Chandelure having covered both him and Bianca.

Vire coughed up some smoke from having taken the Lava Plume up close, while Magmortar shook slightly from static electricity from the Discharge.

"How the hell are we still alive?" Nate asked as Hugh quickly took out a yellow spray and used it on Magmortar, healing his paralysis.

The Team Plasma grunts who were caught in the crossfire all fell, either electrocuted by the Discharge or charred by the Lava Plume. The gang noticed Zinzolin was fine, being protected by a green barrier deployed by Weavile.

"So now what?" Nate asked with a slight smirk.

"...It would seem I am in a predicament," Zinzolin admitted as the barrier dissipated.

As Magmortar and Vire slowly approached Zinzolin and Weavile, a sudden stray Flash Cannon shot down and blasted the flooring between the Pokémon. They glanced up to see Magnezone and Metagross floating above them, and landing in front of Weavile.

"While watching him get bullied is tempting," Colress made his voice known from where he stood. "I am obliged to help him out at a time like this. I also can't let you all get too rowdy on the ship after all."

"I don't know whether to feel grateful or insulted," Zinzolin muttered.

"Oh great..." Nate muttered as Vire and Magmortar got ready to battle. "...Huh?"

Nate glanced up to the sky, taking a quick whiff with his nose, catching everyone's attention.

"Nate...?" Rosa asked.

"...So you sense it too," Colress muttered as MKI was staring off at the sky as well. "...It would seem that we have another unwanted visitor."

A faint jet-like sound was audible to everyone on the deck. The sound slowly grew louder and louder, until suddenly something blasted through the skies.

"What was...?" Yancy asked as they all looked up to the sky.

All of a sudden, Heatran came flying down from the skies, slamming straight down upon the unsuspecting Metagross and Magnezone and smashing both of them into the ground. On top of the Fire-type was its master, Schwartzer.

"What the–?!" Zinzolin blurted.

* * *

"Well, so this is your base of operations," Schwartzer muttered as he got off of Heatran and examined the deck with his cold red eyes. "...I'll give you points for creativity, I suppose."

"And might I ask what reason you have to trespass on our base of operations then?" Zinzolin asked.

"Hm? Oh happened to stop by," Schwartzer said nonchalantly. "Saw the large Discharge and Lava Plume and decided to see what the commotion was about."

MKI suddenly aimed at Schwartzer and shot a green laser at the black-cladded man, but the laser was shot down by a stray orb of psychic energy from above, courtesy of Latios hovering above the group.

"Now that was kind of rude, don't you think?" Schwartzer asked. "Still salty that you lost the tournament?"

"Not really," Colress shrugged. "MKI simply saw you as an obvious threat and took actions to its own hands."

"I see," Schwartzer muttered. "It can't be helped I suppose..."

Magnezone and Metagross grunted before muscling their way out from underneath Heatran's footing, toppling the Fire-type over, and making everyone else back off to not get squashed by the giant volcanic monster.

"Thunderbolt, Hammer Arm," Colress commanded.

Metagross lunged for Schwartzer while Magnezone shot a violent bolt of lightning aimed at him. Immediately a beam of light shot out from Schwartzer's coat releasing Shiny Haxorus, who immediately parried Metagross's attack, while shoving him into the Thunderbolt attack, electrocuting Metagross instead. As Metagross fell, Weavile suddenly lunged forward and jumped towards Shiny Haxorus. Right as Weavile was about to slash at Shiny Haxorus's throat, he was suddenly shot down from above courtesy of Hidden Power from Latios. Latios then proceeded to shoot another Hidden Power to combat the Flash Cannon that Magnezone shot at him without anyone noticing. Before Magnezone could regroup, Heatran managed to recover during the short span of chaos and spewed fire at the Steel-type, roasting it to a crisp.

"Looks like the rematch is done in record time," Schwartzer chuckled.

"It would be, if I still didn't have MKI," Colress replied as the aforementioned Pokémon proceeded to shoot at Shiny Haxorus.

Heatran intercepted with another blast of fire, protecting its master and its comrade from the assault, before proceeding to breath fire at MKI, who flew back to avoid it.

"C'mon, my team hasn't even broken a sweat yet," Schwartzer taunted. "I would've sworn you would've studied up for a counter plan."

"Considering we just fought roughly an hour or so ago, sorry to disappoint," Colress drawled sarcastically as he stepped up to Zinzolin. "I suggest you step back."

"...Indeed," Zinzolin muttered begrudgingly as he recalled his weavile.

As the battle between Colress and Schwartzer continued, the others were watching from their side.

"This is insane..." Cheren muttered.

"I'll say," Bianca agreed. "Like why did he suddenly just show up?"

"At this point, we're forced on the sidelines though..." Hugh muttered.

Nate stared at the two combatants, particularly at Schwartzer. He narrowed his eyes at the black-cladded man, before glancing over to his equally-black haxorus.

"Wait where have I...?" Nate muttered as he squinted at Shiny Haxorus. After a moment staring at the black dragon, Nate's eyes suddenly widened.

"Huh? Nate...?" Yancy asked Nate, who suddenly stood up.

Everyone else noticed Nate with a thousand-yard stare aimed at Schwartzer and the black haxorus.

"Nate? What's wrong?" Rosa asked.

Nate ignored Rosa, instead walking slowly towards Schwartzer.

"What're you doing?" Cheren muttered alarmed.

The black-cladded trainer noticed Nate walking up to him and glanced at him. He then glanced over to his haxorus, before immediately glancing back to Nate. The boy then proceeded to hasten his pace as he reached into his pockets and revealed his two knives.

"Wha–?!" Rosa blurted.

Before anyone could react, Nate suddenly lunged for Schwartzer and swung one of his knives at him. The man met and grabbed the blade with his right hand before it could cut into him.

* * *

"Well this is kind of rude, don't you think?" Schwartzer asked sarcastically as he kept Nate's blade from reaching him.

Nate said nothing, keeping a feral and furious glare at the man.

"Oh well...I really don't want to do this," Schwartzer sighed, before punching Nate in the gut.

"GHUO!?" Nate gagged, releasing his strike from Schwartzer. Schwartzer then proceeded to shove Nate out of the way, alerting his Pokémon to the threat that was the boy.

"NATE!" Yancy cried out.

"What's going on...?" Colress wondered.

MKI stopped its actions the moment Colress got distracted, which Heatran capitalized on by blasting it with a plume of fire.

"Crap!" Colress swore as he focused back on the battle, with MKI falling in defeat and proceeded to take out a pokéball to recall it.

"Hidden Power!" Schwartzer immediately yelled.

Latios instantly shot a Hidden Power at Colress, blasting the pokéball and breaking it before it could get MKI back in.

"Tch–?!" Colress winced in pain, before realizing that the pokéball broke. "NO!"

As MKI got back up, it looked around confused.

"...Input error...input error..." it stated. "Trainer recognition failed...Personal status: Wild..."

"MKI! Return immediately!" Colress hastily yelled.

MKI glanced to Colress, before tilting its head in response.

"...Colress identified...Unable to recognize capture status..." it said monotonously. "...Personal status: Wild...Order priority, minimal..."

MKI then proceeded to change into its jet form, before bulleting to the sky and flying away.

"DAMNIT!" Colress swore.

"Not exactly too keen on letting you guys have more power," Schwartzer commented. "You already have the Forces of Nature and Three Swords under your control. Giving you lot more toys to play with isn't the best idea."

"You swine...!" Zinzolin growled having witnessed him free MKI from Colress's control.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Schwartzer disregarded Zinzolin in favor of Nate, who got back up.

"Why you..." Nate growled as he sent out Zoro and Deo, while Vire jumped back over to Nate.

"Of course, Nate Warren," Schwartzer said as his Pokémon gathered. "I actually wanted to fight you in the tournament. Too bad you lost to Colress though."

"Bite me," Nate snarled.

"Now, now, no need to be rude," Schwartzer chuckled as he took a pokéball out of his coat and showed it to him. "You want this, don't you?"

Nate's eyes widened at the sight of the pokéball as the black man put it away back in his coat.

"This is the reason you're even out here, isn't it?" Schwartzer asked. "Unfortunately, I won't hand it over to you, knowing the consequences."

"Oh...looks like I'll take it by force then," Nate shot back.

"Do go ahead then," Schwartzer challenged as Latios and Heatran stepped forward.

Zoro and Deo lunged at Latios and Heatran respectively, as Vire and Shiny Haxorus shot for each other.

* * *

Latios shot up to the sky to avoid a Night Slash from Zoro, while Heatran shifted back to avoid a Sacred Sword from Deo. Meanwhile Shiny Haxorus met Vire's Ice Punch with one of his blades.

"-Whoa?!-" Vire blurted as he felt himself struggling to push back the sheer force of Shiny Haxorus's blade, before prepping another Ice Punch and punching Shiny Haxorus's vulnerable face.

The dragon flinched from the attack, backing off as a result and giving Vire some breathing space.

"-Damn this guy's tough...-" Vire muttered.

"Dual Chop. Luster Purge. Magma Storm."

"Night Daze! Hydro Pump!" Nate yelled as Vire grabbed Nate.

Shiny Haxorus's two blades turned into azure scythes as he charged towards Vire, while Latios and Heatran provided cover fire with their respective moves. Meanwhile Zoro's eyes glowed light blue as his body was surrounded by a crimson aura while creating a dark orb around his claws while Deo shot a violent torrent of water at the incoming Magma Storm, stopping it from burning them down. Zoro slammed the orb down to the ground, releasing a crimson aura that surrounded them, blocking out the Luster Purge. Shiny Haxorus charged forward and sliced the Night Daze through, but to his surprise, only Zoro and Deo was in the dark aura. Shiny Haxorus shot his sights upwards where he spotted Vire midair, with Nate riding on one of his shoulders. Nate then jumped off as Vire fell down with an Ice Punch, while Deo and Zoro slashed down Shiiny Haxorus the moment he was distracted with Vire, before Vire smashed the Ice Punch onto the dragon's head. Shiny Haxorus was pushed back, but simply shook his head to shake off excess ice from the attack and snarled at the Pokémon.

"-Sheesh he's tough,-" Vire muttered.

Nate suddenly darted for Schwartzer, speeding past Shiny Haxorus. Latios and Heatran tried to shoot Nate down, but Deo and Vire were able to provide cover with their own long-range attacks, allowing Nate to reach Schwartzer unhindered. Nate swung his knife at the man with as much force as possible.

What Nate did not expect was finding his attack being bounced back, with a long, equally black blade having revealed itself from Schwartzer's right arm. The boy landed back, glaring back at the new weapon that made itself known.

"Well isn't that a neat parlor trick," Nate growled sarcastically.

Schwartzer waved his other hand in an inviting yet taunting manner, which Nate responded with a growl and lunged for the man. It quickly escalated into a swordfight between Nate and Schwartzer. Latios and Heatran tried to get in to assist their master, but Deo and Zoro impeded their attempts, while Shiny Haxorus found himself an opponent in Vire.

Amidst of the chaos Nate and Schwartzer was raging, the others were simply watching, dumbfounded by the events that just unfolded.

"What...what's going on?" Rosa asked. "Why did Nate suddenly attack him?"

"I don't know..." Cheren muttered. "Although...it seemed like Schwartzer goaded Nate with something..."

Something that Schwartzer said, however, made Cheren ponder.

 _You want this, don't you? This is the reason you're even out here, isn't it?_

Whatever was in that pokéball; it was something Nate wanted to the point of outright attacking him for it. But what was it? It did not help that the man apparently knew Nate's full name, even though no one ever told him his full name. Which could only mean that Schwartzer is someone who knew Nate beforehand. Furthermore, he knew what Nate's goal was.

But the list of people who fit the qualifications were limited. The only one Cheren could think of that fits the qualifications was–.

Before Cheren could finish his thoughts, Nate was suddenly thrown over to them, crashing onto the wooden floor.

"Gaugh!" Nate gagged as he slid roughly across the wooden pavement.

"Nate!" Rosa and Yancy cried.

The boy growled in pain as he got back up, glaring at the man who had punched him in the gut after smacking him in the head as punishment for trying to stab him in the face. Schwartzer simply glanced down on the boy with dull red eyes.

"What's the matter?" Schwartzer asked. "I thought you had more in you. Luster Purge."

Latios managed to evade Zoro's Night Slash attacks to shoot several orbs of light at Deo while the colt was distracted with Heatran.

"-Shit!-" Zoro swore as he saw Deo go down from Latios's attack.

Heatran saw the opening and shot a breath of fire at Zoro, scorching the fox before he could do attempt anything else on Latios. Meanwhile, Vire was smashing Ice Punch after Ice Punch at Shiny Haxorus, parrying any blade strikes he could and striking at any opening he could find. Unfortunately for Vire, said openings were few, if any, and Vire could not block all the strikes Shiny Haxorus went for, a good portion of them slicing the Electric-type with great force, causing him much pain.

"-Damn it!-" Vire grumbled as he went for an uppercut against Shiny Haxorus with an Ice Punch, smashing it into the dragon's chin.

The dragon grunted as he took the attack, but persevered and head-butted Vire, causing the Electric-type to flinch in pain and back off. The dragon then proceeded to slam his tail across Vire, blasting him away and back to Nate. Vire grunted in pain as he struggled to get back up, as Deo and Zoro were kicked back to Nate by Shiny Haxorus. Nate growled in anger as Schwartzer's Pokémon loomed over them. As Shiny Haxorus was about to go in for another attack, Magmortar suddenly made his move; shooting blasts of fire at the dragon to stop him. The dragon backed off slightly in surprise as Magmortar continued to shoot at him, until Heatran got in front of Shiny Haxorus, taking the blasts of fire without so much as flinching. As Latios prepared to shoot them from above, Hugh stepped up and sent out Flygon and Heracross in retaliation. Heracross immediately lunged at Latios with a Megahorn, forcing the blue dragon to take evasive measures, while Flygon slammed his tail on the ground, causing an Earthquake to hit Heatran and Shiny Haxorus. The blunette used the opening to get to Nate, smacking him on the back.

"Oi! Get a hold of yourself!" Hugh exclaimed to Nate, getting his attention. "You're not battling like you usually are."

Nate merely clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Look I don't know what your beef is with him, but calm the hell down," Hugh said sharply. "You're letting him walk all over you."

Nate glared at Hugh, who returned it with his own stern glare. As much as Nate hated to admit it, Hugh was right. He was letting his own anger and aggression get the best of him.

"Tch..." Nate muttered. "So what's the plan then...?"

"He can't take both of us on," Hugh merely said as Magmortar regrouped with Vire and aimed his cannon at Shiny Haxorus.

"Keh! If we lose, I blame you," Nate snickered as he got back up.

"Noted."

"Well now, you have good friends," Schwartzer commented, getting their attention. "That's good."

"So what of it?" Nate spat.

"Yes, having friends is a good thing. Having someone you can trust is indeed a blessing," Schwartzer nodded. "True friends stick with each other no matter what decision they make."

"...The hell're you preaching now?" Nate asked, genuinely confused.

Before Schwartzer could respond, a faint buzzing noise emitted from his mask.

"Pardon me," Schwartzer said as he placed a finger on where his left ear would be. "What? ...I see. Got it."

He removed his finger off of the side of his mask, before glancing back to Nate and Hugh.

"Well, looks like I overstayed my welcome," Schwartzer said as he suddenly recalled Shiny Haxorus and Heatran. "Sorry, but I'll be taking my leave now. Let's continue this match another day."

"What the–You're just gonna leave like that?!" Zinzolin yelled out.

"...Oh right," Schwartzer said with a much more negative tone. "You're still here."

The blade coming out from Schwartzer's arm was still glistening in the light of the sun above as the man immediately darted for the purple-cladded man. As the blade was about to strike the man, an equally black-cladded man suddenly appeared in front of Zinzolin and caught the blade with his hands. Two other identical men were besides Zinzolin, having brought him back away from Schwartzer.

"...Tch, Shadow Triad," Schwartzer muttered. "I was wondering when you lot would show up."

"We can't exactly have you kill him," the man stopping Schwartzer's blade replied.

"For the record, you should've kept quiet when there's someone trying to kill you," Colress remarked to Zinzolin away, having moved away from the chaos and at a safe distance with his beheeyem.

"And why didn't you try to save me?" ZInzolin asked.

"Well for starters, I knew they were going to show up," Colress retorted.

"Hmph, sometimes I wonder if we truly are allies," Zinzolin huffed.

"Regardless," the Shadow Triad member said, ignoring Schwartzer. "You are all trespassers. It would seem that we will need to evict you all from our territory."

"Fine," Schwartzer shrugged as his blade retreated back into his sleeve. "I was planning to leave anyways. Oh but before I do..."

The masked man glanced back at Nate, who was glaring daggers at him.

"You honestly expect me to let you leave?!" Nate growled as he darted for him with knives in hand.

"Nate, wait!" Hugh yelled.

Nate went for a slash with his knife, but Schwartzer easily avoided it, before grabbing Nate by the face and slamming him down onto the floor.

"Nate!" they yelled out.

"Now there," Schwartzer said. "Trying to kill people is pretty rude, don't you think?"

"GUOGH!?" Nate gagged.

"Having people you can trust is important," Schwartzer said as his mask got close to Nate. "But however...I do hope you can keep their trust."

"The hell do you...?" Nate asked.

"If you keep your secrets to yourself," Schwartzer said aloud enough for the others to hear. "I do wonder how much longer they'll keep trusting you."

"Wha–?!"

"I know of Kyurem," Schwartzer said in a whisper, enough for Nate's eyes to widen. "And I know why you want Zekrom and Reshiram."

Schwartzer then let go of Nate and stood back up.

"I hope you know what you're doing. For your sake," Schwartzer said as he rode on Latios, with the azure dragon rising into the air.

Nate was still stuck in a stupor from Schwartzer revealing such information, until he snapped out of it once Latios rose into the air.

"Wait!" Nate yelled.

Schwartzer did not spare him another glance as Latios proceeded to immediately blast through the skies away from the ship. The boy gritted his teeth, before gazing his eyes over to the new threat that presented themselves.

"Now then," Zinzolin said with a threatening tone, confidence returning to him now that the Shadow Triad has returned. "Now will the rest of you follow his lead and leave? Or do we have to escort you off the ship the hard way?"

"Unfortunately we don't have time for that," the leading Shadow Triad said as he released the mighty legendary Tornadus from his pokéball. "So we're going with option two."

"Oh fuck," Nate groaned.

"TAILWIND!"

Tornadus swung his arms ferociously, causing a violent updraft strong enough to sweep everyone off their feet and thrown off the boat and into the ocean. They all immediately surfaced, with all Pokémon with the exception of Deo being recalled immediately.

"-Hey how come I don't get recalled?-" Deo asked Nate.

"You can swim," Nate replied flatly.

"-Eh, I guess you have a point,-" Deo muttered as Nate looked back up to the ship.

"Hey! What's stopping me from just climbing back up!?" Nate yelled.

As if in response, the ship began to shake violently, causing a small tremor that shook the water. The neon blue side plates of the ship then shifted upwards, creating a set of rectangular wings of sorts.

"Heh?"

The neon blue plates then began to glow brightly underneath, before the sound of a loud engine emitted from the ship itself. The ship then began to lift up from the large body of water, before flying up into the air as the boosters underneath the ship and blue plates flared to life.

"What the...?" Nate gaped.

The now airborne ship then proceeded to move to the west, before blasting off through the skies.

"...Okay maybe that'll stop me."

* * *

"Alright, we'll let you know when your clothes are dried," the nurse at the Driftveil pokécenter told the group.

"Thank you," Cheren said, now wearing a complimentary robe the nurse had provided them while their clothes were dried in the drier.

Cheren headed back to the group whom were waiting nearby a table. Nate was eating a beef sandwich he acquired from the local café as the pokémon were eating their own provided food.

"Who the hell makes a flying ship anyways?" Nate grumbled.

"I mean it worked, didn't it?" Hugh pointed out he took a bite out of his burrito.

"It's fucking stupid, that's what it is..." Nate grumbled childishly.

"At the very least, we know what their base of operations look like," Cheren said.

"Yeah I guess..." the boy muttered, before noticing Rosa with a rather troubled expression. "What's wrong with you?"

"...Hey, about what that guy said back at the ship," Rosa started.

"Which one? There were like five of them," Nate drawled.

"Schwartzer..." Rosa said. "He said you were keeping secrets...secrets from us...Nate, are you hiding something from us?"

That got everyone's attention, as all eyes were on Nate now. If there was any truth to the sentiment, the boy did not show it in his face at all.

"I wonder what's up with you, and it's that," Nate drawled. "You really trusting some random masked freak over me?"

"No, it's not like that!" Rosa blurted. "But...it's not like we know much about you though..."

"Wha?"

"She does have a point," Cheren decided to chime in. "We still don't know what your true motives for traveling Unova with these two."

"I thought we made this clear day one," Nate narrowed his eyes. "It was either that or you called the cops on me."

"...If I recall," Cheren replied. "You originally agreed to that condition with your own condition: 'This shit and you all don't get in my way of my business.' What exactly is your business anyways?"

Rosa and Hugh perked up. This was news to them. But the more they thought about it however, the more sense it made. While up to this point Nate was a focal point for solving their own problems, they knew nothing about Nate. They knew nothing about his background, his motives, or his reasons for even agreeing to travel with them. It would not be surprising at this point if Nate was hiding something from them all.

"...And what do you plan to do with knowing?" Nate asked.

"Depends," Cheren said challengingly.

"Hmm..." Nate murmured. "...I'm looking for Hilbert."

"Hilbert...?" Cheren asked, surprising everyone there. "...What for?"

"What? Can't a person go look for their big bro?" Nate asked.

"I figure you would have some ulterior motives," Cheren said.

"Not really," Nate rolled his eyes. "Just some closure if anything."

Cheren stared down Nate. The boy betrayed no emotions for Cheren to go off of. Cheren knew Nate would not budge.

"...Fair enough," Cheren said, deciding to let go of the matter, much to Rosa's apparent shock which Cheren noticed. "I'm not going to force it out of him, if that's what you're expecting."

"What? I wasn't expecting that," Rosa denied.

"Sure you weren't," Nate rolled his eyes. "Are we done here?"

"Excuse me!" the nurse informed the group. "Your clothes are done being dried!"

"Yes we are," Cheren said as he stood up. "Well since all this commotion is done, if you all want to head to the next gym, then that would be at Mistralton City. The gym leader there specializes in Flying-types."

"Good to know," Nate nodded as he got up to get his clothing back, with the others in tow to do the same with their clothing.

"...He's definitely hiding something," Cheren told Bianca in private.

"I mean yeah, that's obvious," Bianca replied. "But...are you sure it's alright to just leave it as it is?"

"What else can I do really?" Cheren asked. "I can't force him to answer. And if whatever he's trying to achieve won't bring the others in danger, then I won't object."

"But what if it does?" Bianca asked.

"...We'll just have to wait and see," Cheren shrugged.

* * *

After getting their clothes dried, the quartet was heading through Route 6, where Nate and Hugh had previously trekked the area, where Nate had added Zoro and Deo to his party, heading straight for Chargestone Cave, where beyond that was their next destination, Mistralton City. Rosa and Hugh were walking behind Nate, while Yancy was seemingly content with walking besides him. Nite, meanwhile, was walking in front, seemingly in a foul mood.

"Jeez, what's wrong with you?" Nate asked Nite.

"-I'm falling behind everyone else, Boss!-" Nite exclaimed to Nate.

"Huh?" Nate asked.

"-Everyone else was doing better than me, and Buzz evolved!-" Nite argued.

"Hey you fought a metagross," Nate reasoned.

"-And I LOST!-" Nite yelled back.

"Oh yeah..." Nate muttered.

"-I need to get stronger!-" Nite exclaimed. "-I need to pull my weight in your team!-"

"Don't beat yourself over it," Nate told Nite. "It's not your fault. C'mon lighten up, there's more battles ahead of us."

"-Boss...I guess so...-" Nite mumbled.

"There ya go," Nate said, before glancing besides Yancy. "...Funny how you didn't question me back there. You okay with me keeping any secrets from you?"

"Well I mean you are keeping my secret from everyone," Yancy replied. "So I feel like I'm in no position to demand something like that from you. I trust you."

Nate gave Yancy a funny look, somewhat surprised by her response, before glancing back in front of the road.

"...Thanks, I guess," the boy muttered awkwardly.

Yancy simply smiled in content. Nite just eyed the two curiously as he walked in front of them, before turning around while walking backwards.

"-So are you and her dating or something?-" Nite asked Nate.

"Huh? No, why?" the boy replied.

"-Just curious,-" Nite shrugged. "-She's always near you and all ever since y'all met.-"

"I see..." Nate mumbled.

"Uh...what did Nite say?" Yancy asked.

"Eh? Oh he asked if we were dating," Nate replied.

"Asked if we were–EEEEEHHH!?" Yancy blurted, face beet-red. "W-W-W-WE'RE NOT DATING!"

"Oi, calm down he was just asking," Nate said. "He knows that."

"-So would you date her?-" Nite asked.

"What did he say now?" Yancy asked, her face still red rom embarrassment.

"He asked if I would date you," Nate answered, which did nothing to help ease off Yancy's blush.

"W-Well...would you...?" Yancy asked timidly.

Nate stared at the bubblegum-haired girl with his usual cold, piercing brown eyes. Yancy always felt herself tremble slightly under that calculating gaze of his. Eventually the boy faced away Yancy, before facing his Pokémon.

"Dunno," the boy muttered. "Maybe."

"R-Really?" the girl asked.

"I mean you're not annoying," the boy shrugged.

While Yancy was stuck with her own embarrassment as Nate faced forward, ending the conversation oblivious to Yancy's embarrassment, Hugh was simply watching them in mild amusement.

"They're getting along pretty well," Hugh commented. "Considering how Nate acts around others, kinda surprised that they're getting along period."

Opposite of Hugh, Rosa was internally fuming at the sight. How dare she continue to get doted on by Nate? It may not like it, but the boy did not act nearly as cold or chastising (if ever) to her when compared to how he treated Hugh and herself. While his treatment towards them is far better compared to when they just started their journey, Nate arguably spent less time with Yancy and she still managed to get on his good side faster than either of them. How dare she!?

Rosa took a short exhale to calm herself. No, fuming over the situation was meaningless. Sure Yancy was not a despicable human being, but she was definitely in her way of Nate's affection. Something needed to be done.

Of course, there was something to note about Yancy.

Curtis was looking for Yancy.

She remembered that the green-haired boy she had the pleasure of getting to know yesterday was looking for Yancy. It was also known from him that Yancy had ran away from home and found solace with Nate.

So it was simple. She just had to contact Curtis and inform him that his sister was with them. That was the first step.

"Oi, we're here," Nate informed the group, snapping Rosa out of her plot-making.

Before she had realized, they had already entered the Chargestone Cave. The neon-blue lighting from the cave's famous magnetically-charged rocks glowing vibrantly. Several klinks and joltiks could be seen loitering around, enjoying being near the magnetic stones, enjoying the electricity that they were discharging.

"Alright, so how the hell do we get out of here?" Nate asked.

"I mean..." Hugh remarked, pointing to the entrance.

"Asides from the obvious answer," Nate rolled his eyes. "Oh whatever."

The group ventured their way through the Chargestone Cave, pushing electric stones asides and watching how they magnetically stuck to the galvanized walls to open up blocked paths.

"Oh yeah you two," Nate said to Rosa and Hugh. "You two decide on what you're gonna catch for your last member?"

"Huh?" Rosa asked.

"You two have five members right?" Nate asked in response. "You two have one slot open. If what Cowlick said was true and the next gym is a Flying-type gym, then catching an Electric here wouldn't be a bad idea."

Nate then proceeded to send out Vire, who landed next to Nite.

"Well, I'm good with Vire though," Nate smirked as the Electric-type inspected the environment around him. "So you guys do you."

"Thanks for that," Hugh replied to the Nate's snarky remark with sarcasm. "Although you do have a point."

Hugh glanced around, noting the joltiks and klinks roaming around. Joltik would provide a valuable Electric-typing for the gym to come ahead, especially if it evolved into a galvantula. However, it was also part Bug-type, so not only would it overlap with Heracross in that department, but it would also leave him with a third Fire-weak Pokémon. His only real answer to Fire-types was Tirtouga as it is, so he was not too keen on adding another Bug-type. A similar argument could be made for Klink; while it was a pure Steel-type, and thus shared no roles with any other member, Klink was still weak to Fire, along with Fighting and Ground. This would leave him equally vulnerable to Fire, along with adding another Ground-type weakness and Fighting-type weakness; this time compounding with Tirtouga ironically.

If he got something extremely powerful, like say a Legendary, then type matchup be damned, but the odds of that was highly improbable. Although it would be nice to catch a Legendary; it would let him catch up to Nate, who had a Legendary with him.

But speculation would take Hugh so far, so he needed to actually _catch_ something.

While everyone was to their own thoughts; some good while others more scheming, Nite simply glared at Vire, who now towered over him.

"-What's wrong with you?-" Vire asked.

"-Don't think you're hot stuff just because you evolved!-" Nite growled. "-I'm gonna evolve too and catch up! Just you watch!-"

"-Okay...-" Vire muttered, not caring too much.

Nate sighed as Nite got more enraged by Vire's nonchalance at Nite's declaration, before moving on. Clearly there was no getting through the pig's hothead other than him actually evolving or beating Vire in a fight. Or both. Regardless, unless Nite decided to evolve in the next ten minutes or something, Nate would be stuck with a fussing fire pig.

The group eventually found themselves crossing a narrow stone passage. Peering down, they could see the lower chasms of the cave.

"This is kinda nerve-wrecking, huh," Yancy mumbled. "One wrong step and you could fall off and..."

"Yeah..." Nate muttered off-handedly. "Unless you were made of steel or something, you'd gotta be a suicidal idiot to even consider jumping off..."

The boy trailed off until he spotted something down below. Just barely could he eye someone down there. While they had barely any color on them, a vibrant green could be visible as the person walked away. Nate's eyes dilated once again at the sight of the person.

"Nate...?" Rosa asked.

Nate ignored everyone around him, before proceeding to take a step back, before rushing ahead and jumping off the passage.

"WHAT THE–NATE!" Rosa screamed as the boy just suddenly jumped off the passage.

"-BOOOSSSS!-" Nite cried as he jumped off as well, following his trainer.

"-NO YOU IDIOT–!-" Vire tried to stop Nite, but was one step too late. "-Oh for fuck's sake...-"

Groaning, Vire jumped off the passage after his trainer and foolish partner, leaving the three to themselves.

"Wh-what just happened...?" Yancy stammered, still pale from Nate jumping off.

They were all in shock at the sudden turn of events, until Hugh managed to snap out of it and looked around for a safer way down.

"Well don't just stand there!" Hugh yelled at the two girls. "We need to get down there!"

The two girls snapped out of their stupor as well, before shakily agreeing as they rushed to the other side of the passage and scrambled to find a way down in search of their friend who literally jumped off a bridge.

* * *

The boy plummeted faster and faster to the bottom floor. Before he reached it, he slammed one of his knives into a nearby wall, letting the blade dragging down in the stone wall slow down his descent, before finally ripping it out and rolling onto the floor once he reached a relatively safe distance from the bottom floor.

Nite screamed his way down to the bottom floor, before Vire managed to jump down from wall to wall and grab the Fire-type idiot before making a crash landing.

"-Gah!-" Vire grunted, before glaring at Nite. "-You bloody idiot! What were you thinking jumping off like that?!-"

"-Hey I was going after Boss!-" Nite argued. "-You jumped off too!-"

"-Just so that you didn't get turned into roadkill!-" Vire growled back.

Before the two could argue any further, they noticed Nate heading off on his own, leaving them to themselves.

"-Wait, Boss!-" Nite exclaimed, shoving himself out of Vire's grasp and chasing after his trainer.

"-Goddamn it! What the hell's going on!?-" Vire demanded as he gave chase as well.

The boy seamlessly maneuvered through the cave's interior, ignoring any and all wildlife in the cave in pursuit of something. He did not even notice that he had left his two Pokémon, or that they performed a similarly life-threatening stunt to give chase to their trainer.

Eventually Nate made a turn to the right, where he found what he was looking for. In the dead end was a tall man with bright green hair that contrasted his white shirt, black hat and gray pants. The man turned around to Nate, equally green eyes stared at Nate in surprise.

"Who are you...?" the man asked in a soft tone, but found himself getting pinned down violently by Nate.

"I finally found you again..." the boy growled. "Natural Harmonius Gropius...no.

"Hero of Reshiram, N!"

* * *

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **AN:** Oh no Nate, you're letting your true colors show. Now everyone will know that you're a tyrannical psychopath hellbent on destroying the world...

On a serious note, Nate is starting to slip up. I mean with his ulterior goals right in front of him, it's probably hard for him to keep his cool, but for how much longer until the others will catch on is on him. Well at least Buzz and Magmar evolved. That's always good.

Oh yeah and Rosa's plotting behind everyone's back to get rid of Yancy too...

Yeah this is all gonna just blow up in epic proportions the moment it all comes together. Do look forward to that, cuz I have some plans for that in about like 2-3 more chapters. Trust me, it's gonna be big and emotionally chaotic.

Oh yeah one more thing:

While I'm pretty sure I've done this poll before, now that this story is older than it should be, and y'all had a glimpse of both in the story, I'd like you all to choose between Visorshipping (Nate x Rosa) or Transceivershipping (Nate x Yancy). Will this affect anything about the story? Oh please no, I already know what pairing I'm gonna end with! I'm just curious to see what you all prefer and see how many people I'm gonna please/disappoint at the end :D And see how much opinions change from the first time I did this to now.

Dunno where the poll is, probably my profile. Also only vote if you **HAVE READ THE STORY**. If not, then I'm sorry but please try to refrain from answering it. I mean I can't actually stop you, but it'd be nice if the results were as filtered as I want it to be, so if you could be so kind.

And current teams:

Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Nite (Pignite) / Vire (Electivire) / Brav (Braviary) / Deo (Keldeo) / Zoro (Zoroark)

Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Arcanine) / Mandi (Mandibuzz) / Gustav (Amoonguss)

Hugh: Flygon / Servine / Magmortar / Tirtouga / Heracross

Yancy: Audi (Audino) / Teddi (Ursaring) / Snor (Snorlax) / Toge (Togekiss)

Hey I can update this! :D

Welp, that's all I have to say. Thanks for stopping by, and hope to catch you next time.


End file.
